The Marauders' Daughter
by RankoFan
Summary: Ever since she'd seen her reflection in the Mirror of Erised first year, Heather has known she wasn't who she was meant to be. Her experiment with Polyjuice during second year only confirmed what she had known deep within her heart all along. After confronting her true feelings, Heather finally decides to stop running and embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Fem!Harry Femslash
1. Harry Potter is a Girl?

Disclaimer:

Sadly, I do not own the amusement park that is Hogwarts, or the colorful characters J.K. Rowling has created for us. I've considered writing a transgender story for awhile now and have decided to try my hand at it. Like any story using this as a premise, Harry will be OoC but that can't really be helped considering her outlook and the things that happen to her. I hope you enjoy it.

#foreign language#, *parseltongue*, "spoken", '_thoughts_'

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**The Marauders' Daughter**

Prologue

_Harry Potter is a Girl?_

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**(Saturday, June 19****th****, 1993, Mid-Afternoon)**

A bespectacled, raven-haired twelve year old boy named Harry Potter was sitting by the window of the Hogwarts Express lost in thought as he stared at the scenery on their way to King's Cross. Sitting beside him was his very best friend, a bushy haired brunette named Hermione Granger. On the girl's other side sat a red-haired boy named Ronald Weasley. Sitting across from him and seemingly lost in her own thoughts was a first year red-haired girl named Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister. Sitting beside her was another first year, a dirty-blond haired girl named Luna Lovegood and Ginny's best friend. Rounding out their cabin and sitting across from Ron was a slightly pudgy, dark haired boy named Neville Longbottom.

Despite the fact nearly everyone would be heading their separate ways in a matter of hours; there was very little conversation to be had. Harry and Ginny were too preoccupied thinking about the recent school year and their roles in the Heir of Slytherin/Chamber of Secrets fiasco to pay much attention to their classmates. Hermione kept herself occupied with a book while glancing at Harry every now and then, worried about her best friend and what he might be thinking about so intently. Luna was busy trying to comfort her best friend, not really understanding what the redhead had gone through with the cursed diary. Ron seemed only interested in playing games and talking, but the only one paying him the slightest bit of attention was Neville.

Harry knew he would have the entire summer to ponder his perplexing situation and the implications thereof but couldn't quiet his mind enough to enjoy the ride home or socialize with his companions. He had far too many things he needed to think about before they arrived in London; things that were going to have a rather profound and dramatic effect on his life in the near and far reaching future. Whether those changes ultimately proved to be a good thing remained to be seen.

The main things on his mind had to do with the sequence of events that had begun in early November. It had all started simply enough, at least by his standards. Once the Chamber of Secrets/Heir of Slytherin fiasco had begun Halloween night, Hermione managed to find an advanced potion recipe within the library's restricted section called Polyjuice. The potion in question would allow the drinker to take on the physical form of another for an hour. After stealing the necessary ingredients from Professor Snape, she had then begun the month long brewing process in an abandoned second floor girl's bathroom. The idea being that the three of them: Ron, Hermione and he, would take on the guise of Slytherin students who were close to Draco Malfoy in order to learn what the blond aristocrat knew about the Heir of Slytherin.

No, trust Harry to have an even more complicated year than simply trying to brew a semi-illegal and highly regulated potion in secret, discover who was responsible for petrifying muggle-born students and locate the Chamber of Secrets. It had been far too much for a twelve year old child to deal with along with simply tying to survive yet another crazy year in the madhouse otherwise known as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

It had all started in early December when Draco Malfoy made a snide comment about how girlish he looked compared with the beginning of the year. Naturally, such a comment had elicited raucous laughter from most of the Slytherins within earshot and Harry couldn't help but blush in embarrassment, which had set them off even more. Because it had been Malfoy who'd said it, most of the other Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws hadn't paid much attention as they were used to the ongoing animosity between the two boys.

A small part of him had wanted to run away and hide so he could cry without the whole school knowing Malfoy had gotten to him. He couldn't let that happed though or else he'd never hear the end of it. The more stubborn part had tried his best to ignore the barb despite knowing it was true. He _did_ look more feminine than he had at the beginning of the year, not that he understood how or why that was the case. No one seemed to have been able to explain what was happening to him, not Madam Pomfrey, not Minerva McGonagall, not even the vaunted Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. His own exhaustive research over the last several months hadn't unearthed any definitive answers either.

"Hey mate?" Ron asked hesitantly as he reached through Hermione's personal space in order to tap him on the shoulder.

Harry couldn't help but cringe at the address. It wasn't because it was familiar, as the address was fairly common between male friends in England, Australia and other commonwealth countries; it was the word itself applied in that context that had always bothered him. Perhaps it was because the only time he had heard the term before attending Hogwarts involved animals being intimate with one another. Maybe it was because some part of him knew deep down he was really a girl and wanted nothing to do with male bonding rituals. It could also be simply because Ron was a somewhat abrasive young man who was often rude and lacked general manners. Whatever the reasons, all he knew is it made him uncomfortable and because of that, he had chosen to never address anyone in such a fashion.

"Ronald," Hermione snapped waspishly as she batted the redhead's arm out of her face. Turning towards her best friend, she noticed a tear running down the sullen boy's cheek and gently laid a hand on his arm as she asked softly, "Harry? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," the boy in question whispered as he wiped the tear running down his cheek.

"Harry," the brunette prodded gently.

"Really Hermione, it's nothing. Please don't ask," the bespectacled young man pleaded without turning to face his friend.

"It's not nothing Harry, something is obviously bothering you," Hermione insisted quietly as she squeezed her friend's arm.

"Just leave it, now is _not_ the time," Harry growled softly as he shrugged off her hand and went back to watching the scenery outside their window. He knew Hermione was worried about him and just wanted to help. Honestly, it was one of the things he loved most about her and if they were alone, he would've considered telling her what had been on his mind pretty much since they had boarded the train that morning. With four others in the compartment, particularly with Ron being one of them, there was no way he was going to talk about what the two of them had discussed Christmas morning.

"Alright," the brunette whispered, letting the matter drop as she studied her best friend's illusionary form for several seconds. While she hadn't seen Harry's true form for several months, she knew beneath the glamour he looked a lot different than what he showed the rest of the world. Since they were forbidden from using magic outside school, she wondered when her friend's glamour would disappear and reveal who he had become over the last six months. Was _that_ what he was thinking about so much, their conversation and subsequent experiment Christmas morning before they had used the Polyjuice potion in order to infiltrate the Slytherin common room?

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"_Hermione, I need to talk to you in private," Harry said quietly before glancing at Ron, hoping the redhead wouldn't take being excluded too badly. The three friends were sitting in the Gryffindor common room in front of the fireplace following breakfast Christmas morning. Harry and Hermione were sharing the couch while Ron occupied one of the over-stuffed chairs nearby. They had decided to wait until after dinner for their attempt at infiltrating the Slytherin common room. The idea being the three of them would drink the Polyjuice potion Hermione had been secretly brewing for the last month in order to physically turn themselves into Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and Millicent Bulstrode so they could interrogate Draco Malfoy about the Heir of Slytherin and Chamber of Secrets._

_Hermione studied her best friend for several seconds before finally nodding and putting her book away as she asked, "Where?"_

"_Not here," Harry replied softly. He turned towards their other friend and continued, "Sorry Ron, but this is something strictly between Hermione and me."_

_The brunette stared at Harry in shock as dozens of possibilities passed through her mind in a matter of seconds. What could he possibly want to talk to her about that was so secret it couldn't include his best friend?_

"_Fine, we'll catch up later __**mate**__," Ron sneered in an irritated tone as he stormed up the stairs towards the second year boys' dormitory._

_Harry just shrugged at the redhead's petulant behavior and motioned for Hermione to follow him outside the Common Room. The two walked in comfortable silence for several minutes before finally arriving at the second floor girl's lavatory where they were secretly brewing the Polyjuice potion. He knew their upcoming discussion was going to be incredibly awkward, he just hoped he wouldn't lose his best friend's friendship over it._

"_Harry? Why are we here?" Hermione asked in confusion while absently checking to make sure their preparations hadn't been disturbed._

"_Hermione, what I wanted to talk to you about will probably sound really strange," Harry replied quietly as he sat on the tiled floor near the back of the room. Patting the ground beside him, he steeled his Gryffindor courage and continued, "Do you remember that comment Malfoy made a few weeks ago, the one about how I look more girlish than I did at the beginning of the term?"_

"_Oh Harry," Hermione said gently as she sat beside her best friend and took the slightly taller boy's hands in her own. "You're not still upset about that are you? I mean it's Malfoy; he doesn't know what he's talking about most of the time and you really shouldn't let him get to you."_

"_It's not that," the bespectacled boy countered with a shake of his head. "I think he might actually be right for once. I never thought Malfoy was particularly perceptive, but lately, whenever I have seen my reflection in the mirror I've noticed I do seem a bit more girlish looking than at the beginning of the year. I know it's a really weird question to ask Hermione, but please, what is it like to be a girl?"_

_The brunette gasped, her eyes widening in shock as she stared at her best friend. Of all the questions she could've conceived him asking her, including the unlikely one of whether or not she'd be interested in being his girlfriend, this hadn't been anywhere remotely on the radar. How was she supposed to answer him? Being a girl was all she'd known for her entire life and _ _it wasn't as though she had any other experiences to compare it with._

"_I know that was probably not what you were expecting," Harry said with a chuckle as he gently squeezed her hand._

"_Understatement of the millennium," Hermione muttered as she tried to wrap her mind around what her friend had asked and how she could possibly answer him. After several minutes of careful thought, she sighed heavily and said, "I'm sorry Harry, I honestly have no idea how to answer that question. I don't think it's something I can really explain."_

"_I suppose that's fair," the raven haired boy whispered as his shoulders slumped in disappointment. "I doubt I'd know how to answer if you were to ask me what it's like to be a boy. Except perhaps that it's horridly uncomfortable, but then that's probably just me and not boys in general."_

"_You're uncomfortable as a boy?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. At her friend's nod, she continued in a soft and caring tone, "Can you articulate what it is about being a boy you find uncomfortable?"_

"_Everything feels wrong, like I'm not really who I am supposed to be," Harry replied in a soft but frustrated tone. When Hermione gently squeezed his hand in support, he smiled for a moment before continuing, "I hate the way I feel most of the time and it's almost as though I'm trapped within someone else's body, someone else's life. I hate having this disgusting piece of flesh dangling between my legs and the way most people treat me, though I suspect that may have more to do with the whole Heir of Slytherin/Boy-Who-Lived thing than being male in general. I don't know; I just wish it would end…"_

_Hermione pulled her friend into a comforting embrace and gently rubbed his back as she soothed, "It's alright Harry. We'll figure this out together, I promise. I'm not about to abandon you simply because you feel like you might be a girl inside. Boy or girl, you're still you and my best friend. I'll always stand by your side, for as long as you want me. I'm curious though, how long have you felt this way?"_

_"I'm not sure honestly," the last Potter said as he slowly relaxed within his companion's arms. "I think it may have started sometime during primary, long before Hagrid showed up and told me I was a wizard. I would see the girls looking pretty in their flowery dresses and often wished I could be like them. Whether that was because I really felt like a girl inside or just wanted a life away from the Durselys, I don't know. Do you remember me telling you about the Mirror of Erised and what I had seen?"_

_"The Mirror of Erised…" the bookworm repeated as she mulled over what she could remember about the strange artifact. Drawing a blank, she shook her head and said, "No, I don't. I'm sorry Harry."_

_"It's alright, I didn't really expect you to remember with everything that's been going on the last year," Harry said as he pulled back and flashed his friend a soft smile. "The first time I looked in the mirror I saw my parents, you, and a red-haired girl I didn't recognize. You were a little older, perhaps mid-teens or so and the two of you looked very happy together. At first, I didn't really understand what I was seeing, I mean, where was I? It wasn't until I'd had a chance to think about it afterward that I realized who the red-haired girl really was."_

_"Why didn't you tell me?" the bushy haired girl asked quietly as she reached for her best friend's hands again._

_"I did, at least the part where I had seen my parents," the raven haired boy countered softly. "As for why I never told you the rest, several reasons. For starters, what was I supposed to say? That I had found a mirror showing me not only as a girl, but the two of us involved in a romantic relationship with one another? I didn't want you looking at me like I was a freak. At that point we hadn't been friends for very long and I didn't want to do or say anything that might jeopardize that friendship. You're my best friend Hermione, you have been since Halloween first year. When I heard what Ron was saying about you, I decided he couldn't be my best friend anymore. In that moment, he reminded me too much of Malfoy and my cousin Dudley._

_"Secondly, I had no idea how to handle what the mirror was revealing as my heart's true desire, that I might really be a girl deep inside, and just sort of suppressed the whole experience and tried to forget about it. Seeing as how I'm bringing it up now, a year later, and have been thinking about it pretty much non-stop since the beginning of the year, I guess I haven't been very successful."_

_Hermione couldn't help but blush when her best friend admitted he had seen them together as a romantic couple and wondered whether he still harbored deeper feelings for her as the mirror had suggested. Granted, they were a bit young to start dating, at least anything more serious than the friendly hand holding and hugs they'd been sharing in secret since first year. It was also something she had never given much thought about, figuring no one would be interested in her that way and preferring to focus on her schoolwork instead._

_The question was if Harry really felt like a girl inside, and somehow actually became one, what would that mean for their relationship? Would he still feel the same way about her or would they become something more akin to sisters? What about her, would she be able to see pass her best friend's body and love a female Harry the same way? Could they become a lesbian couple and if so, how would magical society treat them? How would her parents react if they found out she was in love with another girl?_

"_What did you look like as a girl?" the brunette asked shyly as she looked down and studied their joined hands, hoping her blush would fade before her companion noticed._

_Harry stared at the sinks on the far side of the room for several moments as he mentally reviewed his memories. Once he had a clear picture of his other self within his mind, he turned towards his best friend and smiled before answering in a soft, dream-like voice. "Girl-me had silky, fiery red hair long enough to reach the middle of her back along with a fringe that hid my scar. Her emerald green eyes seemed to shine brighter than mine and her face looked soft and delicate. I'm no expert, but I'd have to say her gentle smile was her most beautiful feature. I felt warm and comforted every time she smiled at me in the mirror. Unfortunately, boy or girl, I can't seem to catch a break in the height department because she was pretty short for her age."_

"_She sounds really pretty," Hermione said softly as she tried to picture her friend's girl form in her mind. "You know Harry, if you want to experience what it's like to be a girl for yourself, at least physically, we have more than enough Polyjuice potion for our plans. I can't really explain what it's like without something to compare it with, but if you were to use some now, you'd be able to see how it feels and decide whether it's something you think you may want. If it is, we can research the possibilities and find a way to turn you into a girl permanently."_

"_A-Are you sure?" the raven haired boy stammered as he stared at his friend in shock. "I wouldn't want to do anything to disrespect you."_

"_As long as you keep your clothes on and don't touch yourself too much or inappropriately, it'll be fine," the brunette replied anxiously._

"_T-Touch myself?" Harry stuttered as his cheeks turned crimson. He was blushing so hard he wondered if his hair might catch fire._

"_Harry, you'll only have an hour to figure out whether being a girl is something you think you might want," Hermione said quietly even as her own cheeks started burning. "I'm willing to allow you this chance to experiment so you'd have a better idea of what it means to be physically female. Since you would be turning into me, rather than some random girl, I'd prefer it if you didn't see me naked or touch certain areas."_

"_I-If, i-if you're sure…"_

"_I'll admit the idea makes me somewhat uncomfortable, but you're my best friend and I'm willing to go through with it if it'll help you," the bookworm said in a solemn tone as she gently squeezed their joined hands again. "We have no idea when we might have another opportunity like this, probably never. Don't you think you would feel better about the whole thing if you knew how you really felt rather than if you were left wondering for the rest of your life?"_

_Harry nodded his head slowly as the two of them separated before climbing to their feet and walking towards the cauldron that contained the Polyjuice potion. He watched anxiously as Hermione used a ladle to pour some of the foul looking liquid into a glass mug before adding one of her hairs to the mixture. Once the hair had completely dissolved, the brunette turned towards her companion and smiled as she handed him the mug._

_The last Potter gingerly took the steaming glass mug from his friend's hand and sighed. Steeling his Gryffindor courage, Harry raised the mug towards his reflection and said "Cheers!" before downing the foul smelling mixture. Never having taken Polyjuice before, he had no idea what to expect and was glad they were in a bathroom. A sudden wave of nausea nearly overwhelmed him and he leaned into the sink to stabilize himself while pain wracked his body as his skin started bubbling like boiling wax._

_Several moments passed before the pain abated and he watched in morbid fascination as his raven colored hair lightened to a honey brown color. His face became even more feminine looking and his emerald eyes darkened until they had become a cinnamon brown color. He could feel his body shifting beneath his robes and frowned as he lost a couple of centimeters in height. Seconds later the process was complete and staring back at him from within the mirror was a twin of his best friend._

"_Oh my…" Harry started as she raised her hands to her face only to freeze when she heard her new voice._

"_Harry? Are you alright?" Hermione asked in concern as she carefully examined the other girl._

"_I'm… I'm not sure," the neo-girl whispered anxiously as she lightly brushed her hands along her new body. Hermione had given her permission to touch, but she didn't want to exhaust that permission too quickly or in inappropriate ways. Running her fingers along her bare arms, she was amazed at how much softer her skin felt and couldn't help but smile. She could also feel the absence of little Harry and marveled at how much better she felt without that disgusting piece of flesh hanging between her legs._

"_Try walking around for a bit and get a feel for how a female body moves differently than a male one," the brunette suggested with a smile. She could tell her friend felt better simply from how relaxed the girl was despite the fact Harry had never been female before. Gone was the ever-present tension that was always just beneath the surface and seemed to plague the ex-boy on a regular basis. Whether it was problems with certain students, biased teachers, or the wizarding world in general, it was nice to see her friend relax even if it was only for a little while._

_Harry nodded and started pacing around the bathroom only to be interrupted after several seconds when Hermione gently chastised her for walking like a boy. She looked at the other girl in confusion and watched as her twin demonstrated how females tended to walk. Rather than the heavy plodding and long strides of a boy, Hermione suggested she walk lightly with her feet closer together. The neo-girl absorbed the information and after several tries she finally managed to duplicate what her friend was showing her. Granted, when she returned to her male form it wouldn't be a good idea to continue walking like a girl. No telling what the other students would do with that, particularly Malfoy and his lot._

_Towards the end of the hour, Hermione was finally able to gather her Gryffindor courage and said, "Harry, I know what I said before about seeing me naked or touching my body inappropriately. There's one last thing I think you should experience while you still have the chance. Go into one of the stalls and sit on the toilet as though you need to use it. If you really do need to, go ahead as that will only help you. Once you're finished, even if you only pee, make sure you wipe front to back. Although you won't be my twin for much longer, it's something you'll need to keep in mind should you become a girl for real."_

_The polyjuiced boy just stared at her companion in shock, scarcely believing what her friend had said. That's when she felt a familiar pressure in her abdomen and groaned. At Hermione's pointed look, her cheeks turned scarlet and she bowed to the older girl's 'suggestion' before walking into a nearby stall._

_Several minutes later, a mortified Harry stumbled out of the stall and headed towards the sinks, unable to face her best friend. While she had been in the stall, she couldn't resist looking at her twin's lower anatomy. She'd been far too curious not to see how girls differed from what she was already familiar with._

"_Harry, are you okay?"_

"_I'm so sorry Hermione," the neo-girl whispered as she turned to look at her best friend, tears shimmering in the corners of her cinnamon brown eyes. "I know I shouldn't have, but I just couldn't seem to help myself. I was too curious…"_

"_Harry stop," Hermione admonished gently as she walked up to her twin and folded the other girl in her arms. "I told you it was alright and if it helped you figure out if this is what you really want, then it has served its purpose. I don't want you beating yourself up over it and think you've dishonored me or anything like that, alright?"_

"_A-Are you sure?"_

"_Yes, now please stop crying and let me look at you," the brunette commanded gently._

"_Alright," Harry replied softly and stepped back when she felt her skin bubbling as her transformation started to wear off. "Thank you Hermione, thank you so much for everything. You've given me the chance to explore something I never would've believed possible a few years ago."_

"_You're welcome Harry," Hermione said with a warm smile as she took her best friend's hands in her own again. "I'm just glad I could help. You've been through so much; you deserve a chance at happiness. If becoming a girl is what you feel you need to be happy, then I want to help you achieve that."_

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Since that fateful day, Harry's body had slowly become more and more feminine as the year progressed despite the fact he was still male. Not only had his hair softened and become silkier as it grew out, it had started changing color to match that of his mother's, leaving him with shoulder-length fiery red hair. In addition to the changes in his hair, his face had started taking on a more elfin appearance and had become much softer and delicate looking. His fingers and toes narrowed slightly as his hands and feet had become smaller. Even more disconcerting was the fact he had actually shrunk several centimeters and was now slightly shorter than Hermione. It seemed as though his body was trying to prepare him for the big switch by slowly altering some of his superficial characteristics before he completely crossed over and became a girl for real.

He had spent countless hours in the library, much to Hermione's delight and Ron's displeasure, trying to research not only the Heir of Slytherin and the Chamber of Secrets, but his own gender identity as well. He needed to understand not only how, but why his body was feminizing itself without his consent. It was during this time he had found a glamour that would allow him to return to his previous appearance, if only to everyone else. Because he was the caster, he was immune to the glamour's effects and all he could do was watch helplessly as his body became more and more feminine as the year wore on.

With a newfound sense of purpose, Harry had decided to stop wasting his time playing games with Ron and devoted most of his spare time to his studies. He was determined to do the best he could, not for his teachers, but for himself now that he wouldn't be punished for outperforming his cousin Dudley. He needed to learn how to defend himself. With that in mind, he had spent the other half of his countless hours in the library researching more advanced magic. If Lockhart wasn't going to teach him anything useful in his classes, he would simply teach himself and his friends. He'd already faced an incarnation of Voldemort during first year when the Dark Lord had possessed Professor Quirrell. He knew it was only a matter of time before he'd have to face the megalomaniac again and wanted to be as prepared for the inevitable confrontation as he could possibly be.

Hermione had been delighted when he had informed her he planned to take Ancient Runes, Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures with her. Ron had protested and said he didn't need to take so many difficult classes, that he should take Divination with him. He'd just scoffed at that and said he was tired of settling for mediocrity and wasn't going to waste his time on useless activities when there were far more important things he needed to deal with. Ron hadn't been particularly happy with that response as it had sounded like he had called him stupid. He had, the raven haired boy just hadn't thought the redhead was perceptive enough to actually pick up on the fact that he had been insulted. Harry figured it was a small measure of retribution for the numerous times he had insulted his best friend.

In that vein, he had briefly considered informing his Housemates he wouldn't be playing Quidditch the following year and that they would need to find a new Seeker. Ultimately, he had decided to shelve that idea in case he changed his mind. If he was being honest, he had never particularly cared for the game all that much, especially considering how he'd nearly been killed on several occasions over the last two years. In first year, Quirrell had tried to jinx his broom during a match and had nearly succeeded in throwing him off and to an early death. In the beginning of second year, Dobby had cursed a bludger in a misguided attempt to persuade him to leave Hogwarts. No, what Harry loved most was flying and he didn't need to subject himself to Woods' insane training sessions or play Quidditch for that.

It wasn't like he couldn't afford his own broom. He would simply buy one the next time he was in Diagon Alley, provided he had sufficient funds in his vault. He was tired of the adults in his life always trying to dictate _his_ future. Before first year, he hadn't been happy when Hagrid had prevented him from buying more than the minimum required. The half-giant had just kept hurrying him along and hadn't allowed him to explore the strange new world he'd suddenly found himself in. Second year had been the same when Molly Weasley had taken it upon herself to do his shopping for him, once again denying him the chance to see what else was available and then tried to monitor what he did with _his_ money. How presumptuous of them! No, it was long pass time to take his fate in his own hands.

Harry sighed heavily as he continued to stare out the window. It had been a long and harrowing school year and now he was on his way to Durzakan Prison for two and a half months of mistreatment, starvation and slavery. Hogwarts was supposed to be a refuge from the revulsion of narrow minded people and tortures of his so-called 'home' life. Between the rampant bullying and useless teachers, the Heir of Slytherin/Chamber of Secrets nonsense and his own changes, it had been anything but.

In fact, in some ways it had been even worse. At least at the Dursleys he was only reviled by three permanent eyesores and one occasional horror. At Hogwarts, thanks to the crazy events of the year, he had been nearly universally hated and feared once his parseltongue abilities became public knowledge during the dueling club fiasco Lockhart had set up.

'_Screw Dumbledore's orders, I'm not returning to that hellhole,_' the last Potter thought bitterly as he clenched his fists in anger. '_That bastard has no authority over me during the summer and has no right to demand I return to the Dursleys._ _It shouldn't be too difficult to avoid Vernon and make my way to the Leaky Cauldron. There's no way that stupid, fat tub of hippogriff dung would recognize me without the glamour. Petunia might though, since I look Mum. In either case, I hope the glamour lasts long enough for me to make it through the barrier. I'd rather not have to try to explain to everyone why I look so different, not that I'd be able to._'

"What's wrong Harry?" Hermione asked in concern as she looked up from her book.

"Nothing," the glamoured redhead growled quietly through gritted teeth as he tried to calm himself down. After several seconds of silence, he plastered a fake smile on his face before turning towards his companions and continued in a gentler tone, "I was just thinking about the year and my latest encounter with that idiot Tom Riddle."

"Tom Riddle? Who's that mate?" Ron asked in confusion.

Harry narrowed his eyes at the address and sighed as he pulled his wand from within his robe. Copying Voldemort's fiery writing trick, he used his wand like a conductor's baton and spelled out using a feminine flowery script, 'Tom Marvolo Riddle.'

"Harry James Potter!" Hermione screeched as she glared at her best friend, only for her eyes to widen in horror when she noticed the flowery script. "What are you thinking? You _know_ we're not allowed to use magic outside school."

"Relax Hermione, its fine," Harry replied softly as he rolled his eyes at his friend's rule stickler attitude. They were surrounded by magic, it would be impossible for the Ministry to determine he had cast the spell. Besides, his glamour had been running non-stop since that morning so he was already using magic and nothing had happened so far.

"Anyways, watch the letters and I'll show you the significance of this arsehole's name," the last Potter instructed. Waving his wand, Harry continued to conduct one letter at a time until 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' spelled 'I am Lord Voldemort'.

The carriage went deathly silent as everyone else stared at the flaming letters in shock.

"The interesting thing," Harry continued conversationally as he twirled his wand in his hand like a miniature baton, "is just how much of a hypocrite the man is, just like a certain muggle German dictator back in the late 1930's and early 40's named Adolf Hitler."

"Harry, you had better have a good reason for mentioning _that_ monster's name," Hermione growled angrily as she glared at her best friend. While she and her parents weren't Jewish, her grandmother and grandfather were along with a few of her cousins.

The boy in question started at the sudden change in his best friend's tone and said apologetically, "I'm sorry Hermione; I didn't realize someone close to you was Jewish. I'll refrain from mentioning this again, but I do have a point I want to make to our magically raised schoolmates."

"Alright Harry. I'll forgive you, _this_ time," the brunette said as she glowered at her best friend and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Brief muggle history lesson," Harry said as he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief Mount Hermione was only simmering and not erupting. "Adolf Hitler was a man born in Austria who would later go on to rule Germany and start World War II. The fact that he was Austrian is important, but not nearly as important as some of his other traits that parallel Voldemort."

Harry just rolled his eyes when Ron, Ginny, and Neville winced at the name. Luna didn't seem to care and Hermione would never wince at a made up name.

"You see," the glamoured redhead continued, "Hitler believed in the philosophy of a 'master race' called Aryans and thought everyone who was not German, blonde haired and blue eyed didn't deserve a chance to live. He viewed Jewish people as little more than insects to be squashed. Sound familiar? Replace German with pureblood and Jewish with muggle-born and you have Voldemort. When you consider the fact the man grew up in a muggle orphanage and would've studied history during primary, it's really not all that surprising.

"Now I'll talk about their hypocrisy," Harry continued as he shook his head in disgust. "Like I said before, Hitler believed the master race was blonde haired and blue eyed. Well, he himself was neither and so by his own definition, was not a member of the so-called master race. Voldemort is the same in that he's actually a half-blood, with a squib for a mother and a muggle for a father, despite the fact he seeks to eliminate everyone who isn't pureblood from magical society. It would be interesting to know just how many of his followers are actually aware of their leader's true origins."

"Not only that, Voldemort isn't even a real name," Hermione interjected as her eyes flashed in anger. "It's French, and really bad French at that, for 'Flight of Death'."

"So you see, there's really nothing to fear saying that idiot's made up name though I'm sure you'll have a difficult time convincing others that," the last Potter said as he waved his wand and dispelled the fiery anagram before putting it back in his robe.

"Harry, why do you keep calling him an idiot?" Luna asked in an amused and airy tone.

"Easy, the man has tried to kill me three times and has failed laughably each and every time," Harry replied with a smirk before glancing at Ginny and frowning at the pensive look on the girl's face. "Oh Ginny, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean…"

"It's okay Harry, it was my fault," Ginny replied quietly as she gazed longingly at her hero, wishing for the umpteenth time he had kissed her while they were in the Chamber once he had rescued her from the diary. "I should have known better than to keep writing in a diary that wrote back."

"You weren't the only one," the glamoured redhead admitted quietly before turning to stare out the window again.

* * *

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* * *

A couple of hours later, the Hogwarts Express finally arrived in London and pulled into King's Cross. Once the train had stopped, Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna all said their goodbyes as they gathered their possessions while Harry continued to stare out the window lost in thought.

"Harry?" Hermione asked once they were alone as she gently tapped her best friend on the shoulder.

The boy in question sighed before turning to face the older girl. Giving his companion one of his softer smiles, he turned back towards the window and said in an airy tone, "You know Hermione, I'd bet a million galleons Vernon would blow a gasket if he saw what I really looked like these days. He hates anything and everything that doesn't conform to his narrow definition of 'normal' and I'm about as far from normal as you can get."

"Forget him, _I_ want to see what you really look like these days," the brunette said crossly while folding her arms over her chest as she half-heartedly glared at her best friend. "I haven't seen your true form in months! Not since January when you found that glamour spell you've been using."

"I know," Harry replied softly as he turned back towards his companion before climbing to his feet so he could gather his trunk and Hedwig's empty cage. While they were in Hogsmeade and waiting for the train to depart, he had asked Hedwig to meet him at King's Cross, figuring the snowy owl would prefer to fly than remain in her cage for the trip. Hedwig had readily agreed.

"When we walk through the barrier I'll cancel the glamour," the disguised redhead said. "I can't afford to let anyone from the magical world see me as I truly am, at least not yet, but I also don't want anyone from the non-magical world seeing 'Harry Potter' either."

"I understand," Hermione acknowledged in a much softer tone as she laid a gentle hand on her best friend's arm. "Harry, I know you don't want to go back to your relatives' place. Would you like to stay with me for a few weeks instead? It would give you a chance to be the real you and I would love to have my best friend stay over."

"I'd like that. Do you think your parents will mind?" Harry asked with a brilliant smile on his face. His smile faltered a few moments later and he continued in a dark tone, "Assuming, of course, The Walrus doesn't recognize Dudley's cast-offs and tries to force me to go with him…"

"Wonder if we could get him arrested for attempted kidnapping," the brunette mused aloud before returning to their original line of discussion. "As for my parents, yes, I believe they would let you, at least until it was time for us to leave for France. I'm not sure whether they would allow you come along though, sorry Harry."

"Its fine Hermione," Harry replied as the two of them started heading for the barrier separating platform nine and three-quarters from the non-magical world. "They're your parents and you haven't seen them in nearly a year. You need time to reconnect with them and I wouldn't want to stand in the way of that. I'll just rent a room at the Leaky Cauldron or something for the rest of the summer."

* * *

A few minutes later, Harry and Hermione walked through the barrier and stepped to the side. The bookworm turned to look at her best friend and gasped, her eyes widening in shock when she noticed the red-haired 'girl' standing beside her.

"Oh my… Harry?" the brunette whispered in awe as she examined her companion's true form for the first time in several months. Gone was the ever present raven colored rat's nest that had sat upon her best friend's head. Instead, shoulder-length, silky, fiery red tresses cascaded down his back and his face looked far more feminine than it had the last time she'd seen it. She noticed Harry was actually slightly shorter than her and the clothing he was wearing looked like a circus tent on his petite frame. If she hadn't known the truth, she never would've believed the person standing beside her wasn't a girl.

"It's me Hermione," Harry muttered with a sigh as he looked down at the ground.

"Hey, it's okay," Hermione soothed quietly as she pulled her best friend into a gentle hug and started rubbing his back. "Remember what I told you, regardless of what you are going through, I'll always be by your side and try to help you any way I can. I may not understand how or why you are changing, but I will help you figure it out, I promise."

"Thank you, that really means a lot to me," the redhead whispered as he basked in the warmth of the older girl's hug. He was just glad she hadn't hugged him with her typical bone-crushing ferocity. He wasn't sure his ribs could withstand the strain.

"You're welcome Harry. Now, let's find my parents," the bookworm said as she stepped back and started looking around the platform for her parents. Spotting them several seconds later, the brunette smiled as she grabbed her best friend's hand and lead the redhead towards a friendly looking couple.

"Mum! Dad!" Hermione called as she and Harry walked towards them with their trunks in tow.

Emma and Dan Granger turned at the familiar voice and smiled when they saw Hermione walking towards them. Their smiles widened when they noticed their daughter was accompanied by a shorter red-haired girl. It warmed their hearts to see their little girl happy and with a female friend her age. They had always thought it strange Hermione had two male friends but no female ones.

"Hermione! Welcome home sweetheart!" Emma gushed as she folded her daughter in her arms.

"Welcome home Hermione. Who's your friend?" Dan asked in confusion as he studied the semi-familiar looking girl wearing old boy's clothes several times too large for her slight frame.

"Mum, Dad, this is Harry Potter. You met him at the beginning of the year," Hermione replied happily as she disengaged from her mother. At her parents' raised eyebrows and confused facial expressions, she continued, "I know he looks a bit different, but I promise, this _is_ Harry."

The elder Grangers frowned as they tried to reconcile the girlish-looking redhead in front of them with the messy raven haired boy they had met in Diagon Alley just before the beginning of the year. There were definite similarities, particularly the lightning bolt scar trying to peak out from beneath his fringe and the glasses, but everything else about the boy seemed much too feminine to be the same person.

"Doctors Granger, it's a pleasure to see you again," Harry greeted politely as he offered his hand.

Dan nodded and shook the boy's hand as he said somewhat begrudgingly, "It's nice to see you too, Harry."

"Be nice dear," Emma admonished with a half-hearted glare before gently pulling the smaller redhead into a hug. "I'm glad to see you again Harry. You should see some of Hermione's letters, it's almost always Harry this and Harry that."

Hermione looked down at the ground and tried to hide as her cheeks turned bright red. Harry was marginally better only because his face was buried in Emma's abdomen where no one could see it. Emma and Dan laughed at their daughter's reaction and glanced at one another, both of them thinking their little girl had a crush on her best friend. Despite the fact Harry looked like a girl, it was cute seeing their daughter finally going through a normal teen phase.

Once everyone had separated, Harry started looking around nervously only to spot his uncle standing off to the side searching for him. He quickly turned back to the Grangers and said anxiously, "Um, I should probably be going. My uncle is waiting and he already looks angry."

"Oh, right. Mum, Dad, may Harry stay with us for a few weeks?" Hermione pleaded as she gave her parents the best puppy-dog look she could muster. Even if he wasn't her best friend, even if she didn't want to be alone over the summer, she really didn't want Harry floundering in his explorations of his gender identity. Now that they had returned to the non-magical world, they had an opportunity to research muggle ideas and come up with a strategy before returning to Hogwarts in September.

"Harry just said his uncle is waiting for him. It would be awfully rude for us to leave without a word after he had come all this way," Emma chastised her daughter gently before glancing at the oversized man she'd seen Harry glance at earlier.

"I know, but Harry's relatives aren't the nicest people in the world and they would prefer he wasn't around," the brunette pressed while shooting her friend an apologetic look. She knew Harry didn't like talking about what he endured at the hands of his relatives nor did he really want anyone to know. As it is, they'd known one another for almost two years and she barely knew anything about his home life.

"It's true," Harry admitted quietly, as though he was afraid his uncle would recognize his voice and drag him back to Privet Drive.

"So may he, please?" Hermione begged.

The elder Grangers studied their daughter and their daughter's best friend for several moments before looking at one another. After coming to a mutual decision without speaking, Emma smiled softly and nodded.

"But," the brown haired woman interjected sternly before the children could celebrate, "we still need to inform your uncle that you're staying with us for a few weeks. Even if you believe he won't care, he's still your legal guardian and therefore has a right to know you have made other arrangements. If we don't, and if he were so inclined, he might be able to claim we kidnapped you."

"I understand where you're coming from Dr. Granger, but that's not how Uncle Vernon's mind works," Harry said quietly as he shook his head in disagreement. "You see, he hates everything and anything associated with magic, me most of all. If we go over there, he'll turn his vitriol on you simply because Hermione is a witch and my friend. He'll assume you're both magicals, even if you tell him differently, and he'll start ranting about how 'your kind' are freaks and shouldn't be seen with 'decent' folk."

The bespectacled young man sighed before continuing, "Trust me, when I don't show up he'll be happy. Maybe not about the drive out here, but he'll assume I was killed or some other horrific fate befell me and laugh, saying it served me right for being a freak. He'll think he won't have to deal with me ever again and nothing would make him happier than to be rid of me for good. I'm sorry Drs. Granger, but it would be better for everyone if we left without saying anything."

Emma studied her daughter's best friend for several seconds as she weighed the young man's troublesome words. She found it inconceivable the boy's uncle could be so callous, but the expressions on the children's faces told her everything Harry had said was true. That he really would be better off if he never had to deal with his uncle again.

How was it that such a wonderful young man, if her daughter's exuberant letters were to be believed, could turn out so well despite being raised in such a hostile environment? Worse, she knew Harry hadn't told them everything. She may not be a psychologist, but as the mother of a bullied daughter she knew what signs to look for.

After trading glances with her husband again, Emma nodded slowly and said, "Alright Harry, we'll go. I won't make you face your uncle."

"Besides, I'm likely to punch him in the face if we go over there and that's a complication we don't need," Dan growled as he clenched his fists in anger.

"Thank you!" Harry gushed in a feminine manner as he clasped his hands over his heart, his bright emerald green eyes sparkling with happiness.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at her best friend's behavior and thought, '_Oh Harry, you're already more of a girl than you know…_'

* * *

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* * *

An hour and a half later, the Grangers pulled into the driveway of an upscale home within a suburban neighborhood in Crawley. The two story house was a powder blue color with dark blue shutters and looked at least twice the size of the Dursley's. Surrounding the structure was a well maintained lawn with trimmed hedges bordering the property on three sides. While he couldn't see the backyard, he'd been told there was a back deck, swimming pool and multiple gardens filled with flowers, creating a pleasant and relaxing atmosphere.

"Wow," Harry whispered as he looked around after climbing out of the car.

The Grangers just smiled at their guest's reaction. Dan popped the boot and said, "Hermione, why don't you show Harry around? I'll bring your trunks in."

"Okay, thank you Daddy," Hermione said happily before grabbing her friend's hand and started dragging the poor boy towards the house.

The elder Grangers look at one another and shrugged. Neither of them could fault their daughter for being excited about having a friend stay over. Throughout primary, Hermione had never had any friends and because of their busy work schedule, she had spent most of her time alone. While they'd had more than a few misgivings about sending their daughter to a magical boarding school in Scotland, it was obvious the experience had been good for the socially awkward girl.

Once the children were out of earshot, Emma turned to her husband and said, "Dan, I'm worried about Harry. I think we need to set up an appointment with a therapist while he's here. I doubt he would be willing to talk to us about his home life, but something needs to be done. We should set up a doctor's appointment for him as well, I don't like how small and skinny he looks. I mean, he's shorter than Hermione!"

"Isn't that normal though? Aren't girls generally taller than similarly aged males during puberty? That's not even taking in account Hermione is nearly a year older than Harry," the tall, brown haired elder Granger asked in confusion.

"Maybe, but there's something else," the petite brown haired woman said as she stared at the door leading towards the interior of the house where their daughter and her friend had gone. "I don't think you remember, but when we met Harry at the beginning of the year he was taller than Hermione by several centimeters. Now, she's taller than him and he looks like a girl."

"Do you suppose something happened to him while they were at Hogwarts?"

"Possibly, but I'm not sure he'd be willing to talk about it. I imagine it would be a sensitive topic for him," Emma replied uncertainly.

"I'll call Dr. Stephens and ask if he can squeeze Harry in next week," Dan said as he unloaded both of the children's trunks.

"I'll talk to Allison about recommending a therapist for abused adolescents," the brown-eyed younger Granger said. "I'm also going to take him shopping tomorrow. He needs clothing that fits and to feel like someone cares for him. If his relatives truly don't care enough to take care of him properly, he's probably never experienced what it means to be part of a loving family. I'd like to give him that while he's here."

"Good idea. I honestly wasn't sure what to think of him the first time we met," Dan said as he slowly shook his head. "I know Hermione thinks the world of him, but I'll admit I wasn't particularly impressed. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt now that I know more about him."

"Thank you Dan, I know Hermione will appreciate that," Emma said warmly as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed her husband.

"What about France?" the elder Granger asked in concern. "We've already made our reservations and it was supposed to be family time with our only daughter, who we haven't seen in nearly a year."

"I don't know. Let's see how the next few days pan out and we can talk about it then."

* * *

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* * *

**_Author's Notes: _**

_I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter. I want to thank everyone who has read this story so far and I hope I can retain your interest. Please read and review. Comments and criticism are welcome, I just ask you to be nice about it. _

_Publish Date: January 1__st__, 2020_


	2. Soul Searching, part I

Disclaimer:

Sadly, I do not own the amusement park that is Hogwarts, or the colorful characters J.K. Rowling has created for us. I've considered writing a transgender story for awhile now and have decided to try my hand at it. Like any story using this as a premise, Harry will be OoC but that can't really be helped considering her outlook and the things that happen to her. I hope you enjoy it.

#foreign language#, *parseltongue*, "spoken", '_thoughts_'

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**The Marauders' Daughter**

Chapter One

_Soul Searching, part I_

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**(Sunday, June 20****th****, 1993, Early Morning)**

The next morning, Harry slowly awoke and felt more rested than he could recall ever feeling in his short life, including the four-poster bed he'd slept in while living at Hogwarts. Rather than get up straight away, he felt so comfortable he decided to simply lie beneath the covers and enjoy the fact he hadn't been forced to return to Durzakan Prison, otherwise known as number 4 Privet Drive. Unlike his slave-driving and entitled boorish relatives, assuming the Walrus, Horse and Whale could be considered as such, the Grangers had been nothing short of amazing in their hospitality, generosity and kindness.

Dinner the night before had been a relatively simple affair as everyone had been too mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted from the long day for anything extravagant. When the elder Grangers had asked about the school year and what they had learned, neither he nor Hermione had really known what to tell them. What could they say that wouldn't have them pulling their daughter out of school at the first opportunity? Between biased and useless teachers, a killer snake going around petrifying students and the general hostility from the rest of the school, what positive things could either of them really say about Hogwarts? While they had learned a lot over the previous two years, the school was anything but a positive learning environment with the outright bigotry and bullying the staff did absolutely nothing about.

In the end, Hermione wound up confessing everything that had happened to her since stepping foot on the Hogwarts Express for the very first time. How she had nearly wanted to come home at the end of October her first year due to the bullying she'd had to endure before he and Ron saved her from the troll and became her friends. He then interjected and said he'd wished he had befriended her sooner. The bookworm simply shook her head and said she was better for having gone through the experience because it had allowed her to see what she was doing wrong and grow as a person.

Dan had then made a comment about the necessity of growing up and maturing, but the fact she had been nearly killed twice was more than they could take and said they would start looking for alternative magical schooling. Naturally, Hermione had protested because she didn't want to leave her best friend to fend for himself against Voldemort. He then surprised her by saying he would be open to the idea of going to another school, he would just have to check his Gringotts account to see what kind of funds he had first.

The discussion to change schools had been tabled for the remainder of the evening, much to his and Hermione's relief. He suspected Dumbledore would simply find and drag him back to Hogwarts even if he did manage to succeed in transferring schools. He would then be stuck in Scotland while his best friend was somewhere in France, Australia or the United States. He had no idea why the Headmaster was so interested in him, it creeped him out to be honest, but the man was also one of the most powerful wizards in the world and his best defense against Voldemort.

'_Glad I didn't tell them about some of the things that had happened to me,_' Harry thought with a sigh as he stared at the ceiling. He shuddered as his mind replayed the events in the acromantula colony and the fight with the basilisk within the Chamber of Secrets at the end of the year. As if facing a Voldemort-possessed Quirrell during first year hadn't been bad enough. He knew that if it hadn't been for Arthur Weasly's enchanted car and Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix familiar, he never would've survived. He rolled up his sleeve and scowled at the long scar running down his left bicep from where the basilisk had bitten him.

'_Just for once, I would like to get through a school year without having to worry about whether or not I'll actually survive,_' the redhead thought bitterly before climbing out of bed and walking towards one of the windows overlooking the backyard. Harry watched as the sun crept over the horizon, the warm light washing over him like a comforting blanket, and felt his irritation with the magical world melt away. For now he was safe and living with his best friend and her family. He had two and a half months before he would return to the madhouse otherwise known as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Waking up before dawn was nothing new to him, but being able to enjoy the sunrise from the comfort of his own room was. Before he had received his Hogwarts letter, he'd never seen the sun rise as his 'bedroom' was a cupboard beneath the stairs. After he had gotten his letter and was moved into Dudley's second bedroom, he'd never been able to simply enjoy the sunrise as he was usually hard at work for his lazy relatives by then. Even at Hogwarts, he seldom had quiet moments to himself at sunrise or sunset.

Harry looked down at the floral print pajamas he was wearing and shook his head as he thought, '_I'm glad the Grangers are planning to take me shopping today, having to wear Hermione's clothes is a bit much._' He turned to glance at his trunk and Dudley's old cast-offs haphazardly thrown on top and shuddered. '_Then again, I would rather wear girl's clothes for the rest of my life than those horrid things ever again._'

A soft knock interrupted his musings and he called, "Come in."

Hermione walked into the room with a smile on her face and said, "Good morning Harry. Did you sleep well? I hope the pajamas were alright, I know they're a little girly…"

"I slept wonderfully Hermione, thank you," Harry replied with a smile as he noticed his friend's light pink night dress lined with dark pink trim and flowers. "They were a lot more comfortable than those circus tents would've been," he said with a giggle as he pointed towards the pile of Dudley's old clothes. "In fact, I plan on burning those horrid things once we return to Hogwarts. That or simply throw them in the rubbish bin, though it would be infinitely more satisfying to torch them."

Hermione giggled softly and nodded.

"As for these being girly, it honestly doesn't bother me all that much," the redhead admitted quietly as he turned to stare out the window. "I've always liked flowers, they're pretty and they smell nice. The only reason something like this would bother me is because I'm a boy and I wouldn't want everyone calling me a sissy, faggot or any of the other horrid names bigots like Malfoy would use for people like me."

"A person like you?" the brunette asked softly as she walked up to her friend and wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulder. She had a feeling she knew what he was thinking about and not saying.

Harry sighed heavily as his eyes started to sting with unshed tears and whispered, "A girl trapped within a boy's body…"

"Oh Harry…" Hermione soothed in a gentle tone as she pulled the redhead into a comforting hug. She felt him melt in her arms and rubbed the smaller boy's back as she continued softly, "I know it must be terribly confusing and frightening, not being sure who you really are, but I need you to remember that you are _not_ alone in this. Someway, somehow, we'll figure it out together like we always have."

Several minutes passed as Harry buried his head in Hermione's shoulder and cried as quietly as he could. Why him? Why was it always him? Wasn't it enough he had lost his parents when was fifteen months old and had a megalomaniac bent on conquering magical Britain trying to kill him? Why did he have to be so famous he couldn't do even the most mundane things without intense scrutiny from the fickle wizarding world? Did he really have to deal with the question of who he was as a person and what gender he was on top of all that? Why couldn't he just be?

Harry slowly regained control of his wildly fluctuating emotions and stepped back before sitting on the bed. He wiped the tears from his eyes as he looked up at his companion and said, "Thank you Hermione, I have no idea what I would do without you. I hope with all my heart I never have to find out either. When I found out you had been attacked, I was so scared I thought I had lost you. I didn't want to carry on without you and Madam Pomfrey had to chase me out of the Hospital Wing every night. I couldn't sleep, food tasted like ash in my mouth and nothing meant anything to me anymore…"

"That's pretty much how I felt when you stepped through the flames and faced Voldemort at the end of first year," Hermione said softly as she sat beside her friend and took the smaller boy's hands into her own. "I saw you lying in the Hospital Wing for days and had no idea what to do. I felt completely lost."

"Hermione," the last Potter started hesitantly. At his companion's verbal inquiry, he continued, "If I really do somehow become a girl, what's going to happen to us?"

"What do you mean?" the girl in question asked in confusion as she turned to look at her friend.

"I mean us, our relationship," Harry clarified softly as he stared at their interlaced hands. He wasn't sure what their relationship really was, but it seemed to have evolved into something beyond mere friendship. Thinking back, he couldn't remember a time when Hermione had ever touched Ron in a similar manner as she'd been doing with him over the last year, especially since Christmas morning. Case in point: when she had been released from the Hospital Wing and arrived in the Great Hall during the feast at the end of the year, she had run up and hugged him fiercely whereas she'd only awkwardly shaken Ron's hand.

"I don't see why anything would have to change between us," Hermione replied as she gently squeezed her companion's hands. "If anything, I would think the two of us could become even closer simply because we'd both be girls. Regardless of how close they are, boys and girls have a different dynamic between them simply due to their biological differences. Conversely, girls share many of the same experiences and are generally capable of understanding one another better."

"I guess I'm just worried everything will change and how other people would treat me," the redhead whispered.

"I won't lie to you, there would be a lot of changes Harry," the bookworm acknowledged softly. "While I suspect your personality would largely remain the same, just being a girl will completely change how other people see and interact with you, let alone being the ex-'Boy-Who-Lived'." At her friend's wince, she frowned and continued, "I'm sorry, I know how much you hate being called that, but it's something you're going to have to think about and deal with on top of everything else.

"Females have different expectations imposed upon them by society and you would need to learn the differences," the brunette continued in lecture mode. "I can help you with the muggle side of things, but I think we're both going to need to learn the magical from someone who's grown up as a witch."

"Nothing against the Weasleys, but I really don't think Ginny or her mother would be ideal candidates for that," Harry said as he mentally ran through the list of pureblood girls in their year. He frowned when he realized how many of the girls on his potential list matched those who had shunned him over the Heir of Slytherin nonsense and his parseltongue abilities once they had come to light during the dueling fiasco Lockhart had organized in December. The only exception he could recall was a girl named Daphne Greengrass. While the blond hadn't exactly supported him, she being a Slytherin and he a Gryffindor, she hadn't actively shunned him either.

"I think Daphne Greengrass may be a good choice," Hermione said with a thoughtful look on her face. "I know she comes from a neutral family, so she's probably not in league with Voldemort and his ilk like Malfoy and some of the other Slytherins. If I remember correctly, she was also one of the few purebloods who didn't shun you during the whole dueling fiasco that idiot Lockhart concocted mid-year."

The redhead raised an eyebrow at his best friend's unflattering description of their latest Defense professor and smirked as he asked, "Did I hear that correctly? Did the Brightest Witch of the Age, Hermione Jean Granger, seriously just refer to the man she had been crushing on for most of the year an idiot? I must say, I am shocked..."

"Oh hush you," the brunette snapped, her tone lacking any real heat, as a blush spread across her face when memories of how she had fawned over the handsome man flooded her mind. Looking back, she couldn't believe how much of a fool she had been to be taken so completely by a con artist. Harry had seen through the blond ponce right away and had tried to warn her only for her to completely ignore him. It was definitely not one of her shining moments. Fortunately for her, nothing untoward had happened though rumor suggested other girls hadn't been quite so lucky.

* * *

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* * *

Shortly after breakfast, Emma, Hermione and Harry piled into the family Mercedes and headed for the nearest shopping mall to acquire a few things that would fit the petite redhead's frame. Dan had elected to stay home and watch television, figuring the girls, and Harry, wouldn't mind if he skipped the mind-numbing experience. Besides, his favorite football team, Manchester United, was scheduled to play their arch rivals in an hour and he didn't want to miss the match.

After a couple of minutes, Harry said tentatively, "Doctor Granger…"

"Please Harry, enough with the Doctor honorific," Emma interrupted gently as she glanced at the nervous boy in the rearview mirror. "Call me Emma, or Mrs. Granger if you must…"

"Um, alright," the redhead stammered softly as he carefully considered his next words. "Mrs. Granger," eliciting an eye roll from the woman in question, "I don't really have any money. We'll need to go to Gringotts so I can exchange some galleons for pounds."

"That won't be necessary Harry, Dan and I will take care of it," the elder Granger said.

"But…"

"No buts," Emma interrupted gently as she activated her turn signal and changed lanes. "While you're staying with us, you are our responsibility. This is something we want to do for you, as a thank you for being Hermione's friend."

"Just accept it Harry, Mum isn't going to change her mind," Hermione whispered.

"I…" Harry started only to yelp when his best friend pinched his arm and gave him a pointed look. "Thank you, Mrs. Granger."

"You're welcome Harry," Emma replied with a soft smile. It was commendable the boy wanted to pay his way but he shouldn't have to take care of everything himself, especially as a twelve year old child. Besides, the trip to London and back would've taken more than three hours and it really wasn't necessary as they had a sizeable shopping area nearby.

* * *

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* * *

Thirty minutes later, the trio had parked and walked into the shopping mall. Harry had never been to such a place before and paused by the entrance as he stared in awe at the myriad sounds and colors flooding his senses. Perhaps two dozen meters in front of him was a central plaza where a beautiful fountain was gently spraying water into the air. The mall didn't appear overly crowded since it was early Sunday morning, but there were a few people milling about either relaxing by the fountain or walking from one store to the next.

"Harry?" Hermione asked softly as she returned to her friend's side.

"Sorry, I've never been to a mall before," Harry replied sheepishly as he focused his attention on the taller girl beside him and their mission.

The brunette smiled sadly and nodded before grabbing the redhead's hand and encouraging the boy to follow.

When the trio walked into one of the larger department stores, an older teenaged girl with long blonde hair and wearing a uniform approached them. Her nametag indicated her name was Sara and she greeted them with a warm smile on her heart shaped face.

"Good morning ladies, how may I be of assistance today?"

Emma and Hermione glanced at Harry and waited to see how the boy would react to the question. When no reaction was forthcoming, the elder Granger raised an eyebrow and inquired, "Can you show us where the boys' section is? Harry here is going to need a few things."

"Harry?" the sales lady asked in disbelief as she glanced at the redhead. "Pardon me for asking, but is that a nickname for Harriet, Harleen or perhaps an alternate spelling for the boy's name?"

Harry blushed and stared at the floor as he muttered, "They're for me ma'am." Hesitating a few seconds too long, he continued softly, "I'm a boy…"

The blonde's eyes widened in shock, her hands flying to her mouth as she exclaimed, "Oh my, I'm so sorry sir…"

Hermione looked at her friend in concern and laid a gentle hand on the redhead's arm, wondering about his hesitation and what was going through his mind in light of what they had discussed earlier that morning.

"It's okay, you couldn't have known," Harry mumbled as he shook his head, his fiery red hair flying in every direction. Part of him had felt a surge of happiness when the sales attendant had mistaken him for a girl and addressed them collectively as 'ladies'. The rest of him, the larger part that was still uncertain about his future and worried how others would treat him when they discovered the truth, was incredibly embarrassed. Sure, the hour he had spent as Hermione's twin Christmas morning had been one of the most liberating hours of his life, but was he really prepared to live as a girl full time? Despite what he looked like, with his shoulder length hair, his soft and delicate facial features and feminine body shape, he was still a boy. He still possessed the most defining characteristic that made a male a male even if it was smaller and less developed than it used to be.

After several awkward seconds, Sara managed to compose herself and said in a more business-like tone, "If you would please follow me, I can show you where the boys' section is. Brandon should be on hand to give you any assistance you may require."

The Grangers, along with Harry, followed the older teenager towards the back of the store in silence as they contemplated the last couple of minutes and what it might mean for the youngest member of their quartet.

Sara didn't have much to think about other than the fact she'd made a colossal fool of herself and accidentally embarrassed a customer. If what 'Harry' had said was true, he had to be the most feminine looking boy she had ever seen, particularly since he was wearing a pair of girl's blue jeans with daisies decorating the pockets and a floral print blouse. Given how similarly built both children were, she suspected the redhead was wearing his sister's clothes for some reason.

Hermione was worried about her best friend. Considering what they had discovered over the winter hols and their discussion earlier that morning, she would've expected Harry to be happy being mistaken for a girl. He certainly looked like one and they could hardly fault the saleslady for making such a reasonable assumption. Instead, he was withdrawn and had a pensive look on his face.

Despite Harry's bizarre situation, Emma had been shocked when he'd come downstairs wearing her daughter's clothes despite the fact she really shouldn't have been. The old rags he'd been wearing the day before were much too large for his slight frame and Dan's would've been even worse. That left Hermione as the closest to his size, but did they really have to pick such a feminine outfit? Then again, at least they hadn't picked something in pink or a skirt. Knowing her daughter's wardrobe as she did, there probably hadn't been too many options. Still, there was something strange going on and she was determined to get to the bottom of it before they left for France in a couple weeks.

The next hour and a half was a blur as Harry tried on many different combinations of male clothing. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to fit quite right. Everything he tried was either too large, too small or cut wrong and looked weird on his feminized body. Abandoning the boys' section, the trio found Sara and asked if she would show them the most androgynous girl's clothes they had.

After another hour or so, he finally found some clothing that would work for the summer. His selections consisted mainly of plain or lightly decorated dark colored T-shirts along with a few pairs of plain blue jeans and several mid-thigh length shorts thrown in for good measure.

Realizing her guest needed underwear and figuring the boy wouldn't want to wear panties; Emma hustled back to the men's section and looked for some plain cotton briefs. Since Harry wouldn't be able to try them on in the store, she grabbed several packages of two different sizes, hoping at least half of them would work.

Once their purchases were taken care of, the trio headed for a nearby shoe store. At least there, they were able to find some boy's trainers that reasonably fit Harry's feet. The shoes in question weren't anything special, just a standard black sneaker that wouldn't look too out of place regardless of which outfit he chose for the day.

When they had finally finished their shopping, some four and a half hours following breakfast, the Grangers and Harry decided to hit the food court and have lunch. He'd never been allowed to eat fast food before and while the fries had been hot and crispy, the hamburger left much to be desired. If he ever went to a McDonalds again, he would consider getting the chicken sandwich or a salad.

* * *

.

* * *

An hour later, once they had returned from shopping and lunch, Hermione was showing her best friend around the neighborhood. Despite the fact Harry looked like a girl, they had decided to hold hands like they normally would when they were alone. Neither of them cared what no-name busy bodies would think of them nor were they ashamed to show one another how they felt about their friendship. Besides, they were a pair of young girls, or so they appeared, and there was nothing scandalous or sexual about two girls their age holding hands.

When the two of them arrived at the park, they decided to let loose and started playing like neither of them had ever really done before. In Harry's case, it was because 'fun' didn't seem to exist within the Durselys' vocabulary, at least for him. For Hermione, it was simply because she had grown up too fast, always on the lookout for more advanced knowledge and generally being treated like a miniature adult rather than the child she was. She had never learned to slow down and simply enjoy her childhood.

Once they had spent a half hour playing on the swings and talking about various things they could do in the upcoming weeks, Harry led his best friend towards a secluded stone bench beneath a large tree and sat down. Hermione sat beside him and raised an eyebrow in confusion, wondering what the redhead wanted to talk about that couldn't have been discussed while they were swinging.

"Hermione," Harry started hesitantly as he took her hand in his, "I was hoping we could continue the discussion we were having this morning before we got sidetracked with all that inter-House stuff."

"Oh, you mean what would change when you become a girl?" Hermione asked hesitantly as she looked down at their interlaced hands. She wasn't surprised Harry wanted to revisit their earlier conversation, especially in light of what had happened while they were at the mall. Despite what the redhead had said to the sales lady, she'd seen how miserable her friend had been while trying on boy's clothes. His attitude had noticeably improved when they headed for the girls' section, even if he couldn't quite admit it to himself at the time. She'd noticed the longing in her best friend's eyes when they'd walked by some of the prettier fashions. The brunette knew what Harry was thinking about when she'd noticed the tears in his eyes after seeing a T-shirt with a unicorn print.

"Yeah…" the redhead answered with a heavy sigh as he stared off into the distance.

"Well, like I said this morning, you don't have to change who you are as a person just because you're a girl," Hermione said in a gentle tone as she squeezed her companion's hand. "Regardless of what you look like, you're still you. You're still the same amazing witch who courageously and selflessly risked her own life by jumping onto the back of a rampaging, four meter mountain troll in order to rescue a stupid little girl she barely knew. You're still the same reckless heroine who journeyed into the bowels of the Chamber of Secrets and slew a basilisk in order to rescue another little girl she barely knew."

Harry turned to stare at his companion, his eyes widening in shock as he listened to what the brunette was saying.

"You heard me right Harry," the older girl said quietly as she gently squeezed his hand. "If it's alright with you, at least while we're alone, I would like to start thinking of you as a girl and referring to you as such. I honestly believe you've been one for a long time, at least where it matters most, even if your body hasn't quite caught up yet."

"But…"

"But only if you want me to," Hermione continued after placing two fingers on her friend's lips in order to silence him. "This is all for you Harry, whatever you want and whatever you're comfortable with. If you'd rather I didn't and continued using male pronouns for you then I will, I just thought you might be happier this way."

"I don't know Hermione. I mean I'm not a girl, not yet anyway and I might never be," the last Potter replied with a heavy sigh and shook his head to clear it. "I may feel like a girl in here," the redhead continued softly as he placed a hand over his heart, "but until I am one for real, I'm not sure it's such a good idea. What if you slip up? What if I do? You know no one's going to take this well, especially in the magical world…"

"Tell you what, before we go any further with this, how about we try a little experiment?" the bookworm asked as she started tracing gentle circles on her companion's arm. "Tell me how this feels: Harry Potter is a girl and she is my best friend. She's smart, talented and beautiful and more than anything I just want her to be happy because she deserves it."

It was like flipping a switch.

"That felt… That felt, wonderful…" Harry whispered as her eyes started tearing up.

Hermione pulled the smaller girl into a hug and started gently rubbing her back as she soothed, "There, there Harry. Everything will be alright as long as we have one another, you'll see. There's nothing we can't accomplish so long as we are together."

Harry couldn't hold back her tears when she heard the unconditional love and acceptance in her best friend's voice. She buried her head in Hermione's shoulder and started sobbing uncontrollably for the next several minutes as she struggled to regain control of her wild emotions. While she had been reasonably certain her best friend wouldn't abandon her over her gender issues, she'd never expected the other girl to be as understanding and accepting as she was.

Once she had calmed down, Harry pulled back and wiped the tears from her eyes as she said, "Thank you Hermione, you have no idea what that means to me."

"You're welcome Harry, it's what best friends do for one another," the brunette replied with a brilliant smile on her face.

"I'm worried about next year," the redhead said as she turned to watch other people in the park take advantage of the pleasant day. "Even if by some miracle our classmates accept me as a girl, the fact remains I used to be a boy. After hearing some of the things Seamus, Dean and Ron have said about girls, there's no way I would ever feel comfortable living with them again, not that I had been overly comfortable with them in the first place. They're pigs, in every sense of the word, and they leave their dirty laundry scattered all over the floor. It's disgusting. Neville isn't so bad; he at least cleans up after himself though he tries not to make a mess in the first place."

"Professor McGonagall would never allow you to stay with them again anyway," Hermione said dismissively as she wrinkled her nose in disgust at her best friend's description of the boys' dorm. "You'll have to move into the girls' dorm."

"I seriously doubt that'll go over well," Harry replied with a heavy sigh as she looked down and stared at her shoes.

"I'll admit, there may be some problems since the other girls have only known you as a boy," the brunette conceded quietly. "Unless Professor McGonagall or the Headmaster can provide you with a private room, I don't think you'll have much choice."

"The other girls… Never mind them, I'm more worried about you," the last Potter said anxiously as she turned to look at her best friend in apprehension. "Wouldn't you feel uncomfortable knowing there was a former boy sleeping in your dorm?"

"Of course not silly, I've known you're a girl for several months now," Hermione replied gently as she took her companion's hands into her own. "You may have only recently come to terms with it, but I saw how happy you were when you used the Polyjuice potion to turn into me. I knew then you would eventually find a way to become a girl for real. I didn't honestly expect it to happen this quickly, but I knew some day it would. I also know you would never purposely do anything that would make me or any of the other girls feel uncomfortable.

"Before you start hyperventilating," the bookworm continued softly as Harry's breathing had become slightly erratic and her eyes wide in panic, "I seriously doubt anyone else has noticed. Other than a sudden interest in your academics, something I'm really glad to see by the way and hope you continue, you really haven't changed all that much. I only noticed because I've been looking for it ever since you told me about the Mirror of Erised and what you had seen first year. You did slip while we were on the Express though, when you wrote Voldemort's anagram in your new feminine script."

"Ugh," Harry groaned as she hung her head in dismay.

"Relax Harry, I doubt it'll be an issue," the brunette said with a smile as she gently squeezed her best friend's hand. "Of everyone that was present, I'm sure Ronald won't remember anything was amiss by the time school starts up again. I doubt Neville will think anything of it and the same goes for Ginny and Luna. I believe they were far more concerned with the contents of your message than the manner in which it was written."

"I hope you're right," the redhead whispered. "I'm not ready for the rest of the world to know their so-called 'Chosen One', the 'Boy-Who-Lived', is really a girl."

* * *

.

* * *

**(Friday, June 25****th****, 1993, Late Morning)**

Five days later, Dan and Harry pulled into the parking lot of a small neighborhood clinic. Ordinarily Emma would've taken her so he could catch up on work. However, the elder Grangers had decided since Harry was a boy and they were dealing with physically male issues, Dan should be the one to take her so he could explain certain things if needed. While the man himself had never envisioned having to give a boy 'the talk', seeing that he only had a single daughter, he knew Harry hadn't been informed of the changes 'his' body would go through in the coming years.

"Come along Harry, let's see what Doctor Stephens has to say," Dan said gently as the two of them climbed out of the car. '_What could he have found? He sounded downright frantic on the phone earlier._'

Harry looked down at her body and frowned. Since the Chamber of Secrets fiasco nearly a month before, she'd noticed her chest had started to develop while another part of her seemed to have shrunk even more. Thankfully, she hadn't lost any more height and was holding steady at a couple of centimeters shorter than Hermione. She was at the point where everyone she met assumed she was a girl, which was fine with her since she'd finally accepted herself as one.

The two of them walked into the building and into a small reception area. After telling Harry to sit in one of the chairs, Dan walked up to the clerk running the front desk and gave the young woman his name as well as the name of his temporary ward. The brown haired woman smiled when she handed him a clipboard and some papers to fill out.

Dan thanked the woman and sat beside his daughter's best friend and started filling out the paperwork using his own residence and insurance information. He knew it wouldn't be an issue as Andrew Stephens was a very good friend of his and he was simply returning a favor. Still, for legality purposes, they needed to make sure they had crossed their T's and dotted their I's.

After fifteen minutes, a black haired middle aged woman opened the door leading further into the office and called, "Mr. Granger? We are ready for you now."

"Alright Harry, let's go," Dan said quietly as he stood and waited for his charge to do the same.

Once they had walked through the door, the medical assistant told Harry to stand on a scale and recorded 'his' weight. Frowning at the number, which seemed lower than it ought to be, she checked 'his' height. That too seemed off considering the 'boy's' age and she attributed it to a lack of a pre-teen growth spurt. After recording the numbers, the woman led them to a small office down the hall where she took Harry's blood pressure and pulse which were within standard parameters.

"Doctor Stephens will be with you shortly," she said gently before leaving the room.

"Mr. Granger, is there something wrong with me? I saw her frown when she weighed me," Harry asked anxiously as she fidgeted in her seat.

"I'm not sure Harry," Dan replied. "Hopefully Doctor Stephens will be able to tell us what's going on."

Minutes passed in silence until the door opened again and an older man with graying hair walked into the room carrying a small folder. The top of the man's head was bald, leaving what little hair he had remaining around his ears and face. The man's beard was perfectly sculpted and looked well taken care of.

"Ah, Daniel, wonderful to see you again," Andrew said rather boisterously as he shook his ex-student's hand. He turned towards the redhead and continued, "This must be Harry, the most mysterious case I have ever had the pleasure to work on."

"It's great to see you too Andrew and yes, this is the boy I wanted to talk to you about," Dan replied as he sat in the chair beside Harry, causing the girl in question to wince slightly at the word 'boy'. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to tell the elder Grangers about her gender issues so they'd start using feminine pronouns for her.

The doctor rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he gave his patient a cursory examination. Other than the lad's name, there seemed to be absolutely nothing boyish about him, including the pair of girl's jeans and v-neck T-shirt 'he' was wearing. He knew that if he'd seen Harry on the street he would've assumed the redhead was a girl just like everyone else. Opening the folder and laying it flat on the desk, he quickly read through the file as he tried to put his thoughts in order.

Sighing heavily, Andrew turned towards his patient and said in a gentle tone, "Harry, I'm sorry, but I really don't know why this is happening to you. I've never seen anything like it and no matter what theory I try to come up with, nothing seems to fit. I'm not sure there's anything I can do to help you. However, I should at least tell you what I found."

Harry nodded slowly; figuring whatever was happening to her was a result of her own magic acting on her subconscious desires. If nothing else, the Mirror of Erised had revealed she was really a girl deep down. When she'd taken the Polyjuice and become Hermione's twin, she'd never felt freer and closer to her real self. It was as though all of the burdens of being a boy, along with the Boy-Who-Lived, were gone and she could simply be Harry. What would happen if she managed to cross over, assuming it was even possible? Would she become the Boy-Who-Lived-Who-Became-A-Girl and make things even worse for herself or could she actually change her name and finally escape the damnable shackles of her fame and have some semblance of a normal life?

"According to your blood chemistry results, you have little to no testosterone in your system," Dr. Stephens said as he glanced at the file. "Now, for a prepubescent boy this is actually normal and if this were the only issue, I wouldn't be concerned as you could simply be experiencing delayed puberty. It does happen from time to time. No, what concerns me is the amount of estrogen I found within your system."

Harry just stared at the doctor with a blank look on her face.

"Allow me to explain," Andrew said gently. "When a boy enters puberty, his body starts to produce a biochemical compound called testosterone that will eventually allow him to develop into a man. As you progress through puberty, your voice will deepen, your shoulders will broaden and hair will begin growing in places it currently is not. It is during this phase your reproductive system begins to develop and eventually allow you to sire children."

"Okay, not seeing an upside to having a lot of that in my body," Harry interjected with a soft giggle. "I mean, my voice is perfectly fine the way it is, my shoulders are big enough and I happen to like not having hair in strange places. There's no need to worry about kids either; I'm only twelve for crying out loud. I'm still a child myself!"

The older man raised an eyebrow at his patient's strange behavior before glancing at his one-time student who shrugged. "Like I said earlier, if that was the only thing I wouldn't be concerned. However, just as a boy's body produces testosterone as they develop, a girl's produces estrogen and therein lays our problem. For all intents and purposes, your body seems to believe it is female and your estrogen levels are within the standard range for a normal pre-teen girl who is just beginning puberty."

"Is that why I have these bumps on my chest? I didn't have them a month ago," Harry asked anxiously as she looked down at her developing chest.

"Yes."

"Andrew, does Harry have ovaries? Could that be why he is going through female puberty?" Dan asked as he glanced at his charge, figuring magic was the true reason behind Harry's bizarre situation but also having to keep it secret.

"Possibly, that would certainly explain a few things," Dr. Stephens said as he scratched his chin in thought. "We'd have to do an ultrasound in order to find out for sure. Unfortunately, I don't have one of those available at this clinic and you would need to go to a hospital. There is another possibility I hadn't honestly considered; if Harry is a hermaphrodite, it's possible he might have both sets of reproductive organs though only one is likely to ever be functional."

Harry grimaced at that and growled angrily, "Great, that's just what I need, yet another thing that makes me different from everyone else."

"It'll be okay Harry, I promise…" Dan started softly only to be interrupted.

"Easy for you to say, you're normal," the redhead snapped bitterly as she crossed her arms over her chest in a huff.

"Harry, I will need to give you a full physical. If you would please strip…"

"Are you nuts?" Harry interrupted loudly as she leapt to her feet and glared at the older man, her eyes darkening until they had become a dark reddish-purple color. Her voice dropped to a soft growl as she leaned into the man's personal space and continued in a menacing tone, "_No one_ sees me starkers Doctor, no one."

"Bloody hell," Andrew exclaimed as he staggered backwards in shock and stared at his patient in disbelief. How did the 'boy' change the color of 'his' eyes? It was impossible wasn't it, and yet he'd seen it with his own eyes. There was definitely something strange going on and it wasn't just the 'boy's' bizarre blood chemistry results.

"Harry, please calm down," Dan said softly as he stood beside his charge and laid a gentle hand on the 'boy's' shoulder. Lowering his voice, he leaned over and whispered, "You need to watch your magic Harry, Doctor Stephens isn't supposed to know anything about it."

Harry closed her eyes and clenched her fists in her lap, trying to calm her raging emotions so she wouldn't get in trouble with the Ministry like she had during summer break between first and second year. She knew the doctor was only trying to help, but the fact she had this whole other side to her she couldn't talk about made it really difficult to actually figure out what was going on. However, if the man was right and she was a hermaphrodite going through female puberty, it would certainly explain a lot. Maybe it was something she and Hermione could research the next time they went to the local library.

Straightening up and turning towards his old mentor, Dan continued in a normal tone, "I'm sorry Andrew, but I think I should take Harry home and give him a chance to calm down. As you can see, he's very sensitive about certain things. If you would please contact the hospital and schedule an ultrasound appointment, I would be grateful."

"Of course, I'll see to it this afternoon," Dr. Stephens said, his voice still rattled from his patient's outburst.

* * *

.

* * *

When Harry and Dan returned to the Granger residence, the redhead stormed into the house before rushing upstairs to her bedroom. Once she had nearly blasted the door off its hinges in her haste, Harry threw herself onto her bed and started crying. Why? Why was it always her? Why did she always have to be different? Rather than discover she was a normal boy, back when that'd actually been a possibility, she had to be magical instead. That was cool and all; it gave her the opportunity to get away from the Dursleys and discover her true self, but still, why was she always different from everyone around her?

As if that weren't enough, halfway through second year she learned her special talent for talking to snakes was very rare, even among magicals, which made her stand out even more. Worse, parseltongue was seen as a mark of a Dark Wizard or Witch despite the fact neither had anything to do with the other, historically speaking. Merlin was rumored to have been a parselmouth and was one of the most powerful Light Wizards in history. Conversely, Morgana le Fey was said to be one of the most ruthless Dark Witches in existence and yet, she hadn't been a parselmouth.

To top it all, not only did she learn she's the only person on record to have ever survived the unblockable killing curse, thus granting her instant celebrity status which she didn't want, she might be a hermaphrodite as well. If she was, maybe then her gender issues would actually make more sense, but really, couldn't one aspect of her life _not_ make her feel like a freak?

She felt someone sit beside her on the bed and heard them whisper, "It's alright Harry, whatever it is, whatever the doctor told you, I'm here for you."

"He told me I was a freak," the redhead croaked miserably as she buried her face in her pillow.

Hermione sighed heavily and started running her fingers through her best friend's hair as she said, "I seriously doubt that. Come on Harry, talk to me, please?"

"He told me I might be a hermaphrodite, that while I'm still technically a boy, I've also started female puberty," Harry sobbed as she tried to make herself disappear. "Why can't I be normal, just for once? Is that _really_ so much to ask? Why is it always _me_ who's different, who's a freak?"

"Harry James Potter," the bushy haired brunette growled irritably as she stilled her hands. "I am _not_ going to sit here and listen to my best friend continue to insult herself, got it?" At her companion's grunt of acknowledgement, Hermione resumed her ministrations and continued in a much softer tone, "Harry, I honestly have no idea why everything seems to happen to you. It's not right you've had to go through everything that you have, but I want you to remember something. You are not alone and I will always be here for you, I promise."

Harry rolled onto her back and smiled weakly at her best friend as she wiped the tears from her eyes before their hands found one another. The girls remained that way for the rest of the afternoon, quietly discussing how they would talk to the elder Grangers after dinner about her feminine identity and hoped everything would go smoothly. The last thing either of them wanted was for Dan and Emma to throw her out just because she saw herself as a girl and not the boy she used to be. It seemed unlikely, especially considering the lengths they had gone to welcoming her into their home, but she had learned a long time ago to not take anything for granted.

* * *

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* * *

Several hours later and once dinner had been cleaned up, Harry asked everyone to follow her to the sitting room for an important discussion. Despite their conversation earlier, Hermione was still worried and followed her best friend towards the couch while a confused Dan and Emma sat in two recliners off to the side. Once everyone was seated, the girls interlaced their fingers between them to try to assuage their anxiety.

"Doctors Granger," Harry started only to pause when the elder couple protested her use of their titles. Steeling her courage, the redhead continued in a somber tone, "For this discussion, I believe it's more appropriate for me to address you in this manner than the informal Mr. and Mrs. I've been using. I want to start things off by thanking you for your wonderful hospitality and generosity. You've invited me into your home and made me feel welcomed and loved. Other than my parents, who were murdered when I was fifteen months old, I've never had anyone care for me the way you have. From the bottom of my heart, thank you."

"You're welcome Harry," Emma said warmly.

"It has been our pleasure," Dan chimed in afterward.

"You've treated me like I was your own child. Because of that, there's something I want to share with you," the last Potter said anxiously as she glanced at her best friend. Hermione simply smiled and nodded as she gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Emboldened by her companion's show of love and support, Harry continued softly, "Doctors Granger, I'm a girl. Regardless of what the sonogram shows and despite the fact I'm still partially male, I've known for quite awhile now that I'm really a girl deep down."

"We think her magic has been slowly altering her body over the course of the year in response to her subconscious desires," Hermione interjected matter-of-factly. "That's why she looks as feminine as she does."

"You see," Harry said as she resumed their dialog, "when Hermione and I were firsties, I stumbled upon an artifact known as the Mirror of Erised. If you reverse the letters in the last word you get 'desire' and that's exactly what it does. It doesn't show your reflection like a regular mirror; it shows you what your heart truly desires. When I looked into the mirror, I didn't see myself as a boy. I saw myself as a girl who looked like a miniature version of my mother. Now, because I thought I was an eleven year old boy at the time, I freaked out and tried my best to forget about it."

"Her feelings wouldn't stay buried though," Hermione jumped in because she was looking forward to the next part and wanted to be the one to tell her parents. "Do you remember the incident with the Polyjuice potion we talked about Saturday night?"

"How could we not? It sounds like an excellent way to commit identity theft," Dan grumbled irritably.

"Yes it does," the bushy haired brunette agreed. "Fortunately, it only lasts an hour so it might not be as much of a problem as it might have been otherwise. Anyways, we told you that we, that is Harry, Ron, and me, tried to use the Polyjuice potion to see what Malfoy knew about the Heir of Slytherin/Chamber of Secrets issue. What we _didn't_ tell you is that Harry had used some earlier that day to turn into me."

"What?" the elder Grangers yelled as they surged to their feet.

"Mum! Dad! It's alright, I asked her to," Hermione shouted as she glared at her parents for scaring her best friend. When the older couple yelled she had felt the smaller girl beside her stiffen in fear.

"What? Why would you do that honey?" Emma asked in a much calmer voice as she sat back down.

"Think back to what we've been talking about," the teenager replied somewhat impatiently as she waited for her parents to settle down. "Before last Christmas, I had noticed Harry's body becoming more feminine as though her magic was already changing her to what her heart truly desired."

"You weren't the only one," Harry interjected softly as she recalled the incident with Draco in early December.

"We had the perfect opportunity for her to find out whether she would feel more comfortable as a girl," Hermione continued after shooting her friend a glance. "Harry drank the potion and became my twin for an hour. Before you start harping on her I'll remind you that she was very respectful and didn't do anything I didn't approve of."

"It was amazing. For the first time in my life, I felt free," the redhead said as the stress of keeping her gender identity secret lifted from her shoulders. "Prior to then, I had always felt something was off, but I had no idea why that was the case. When I became Hermione's twin, I finally realized what it was. I was never meant to be a boy; I was always supposed to be a girl. My body finally matched my spirit, if only for a little while.

"Over the course of the school year," Harry continued in a bubbly tone, "my body started changing into what you see in front of you. Now, because I didn't want to deal with any more insanity in an already insane year, I managed to find a glamour spell in the library that would allow me to look like my previous self. I used it for the remainder of the year and only let it wear off when we walked through the barrier at King's Cross."

"Before that moment, even I didn't know what she actually looked like," Hermione said as she squeezed her friend's hand a little harder in order to convey exactly how she felt about that.

"I couldn't risk it Hermione. What if someone else saw me looking like this? It would have ruined everything," the last Potter replied softly as she gently squeezed her companion's hand in apology.

"You're trying to leave Harry Potter behind aren't you?" the brunette asked in shock as her mind whirled at the possible implications of her best friend showing up at Hogwarts looking like she did and still using her legal name. It would be a disaster, but if Harry were to legally and magically change her name, she could conceivably attend school as a third year transfer student and the legendary Harry Potter would cease to exist. Of course, that alone would cause any number of problems given how well-known the redhead's name was. Not very many people had a clue as to who Harry really was, but many thought they did thanks to those damnable Harry Potter books.

"Yes," Harry replied quietly as she looked down at the floor. "I figured once I had become fully female, provided it's possible, I would change my name and try to make a fresh start for myself."

"I don't see why it shouldn't be possible," Dan interjected softly as he stared at the boy turned girl sitting beside his daughter. "In the course of a year, you've gone from a raven-haired boy, who looked and acted like a boy, to someone who doesn't look or act like a boy at all. Everything about you, from the way you look to your general demeanor is indicative of a girl just beginning puberty. Based on what Andrew said earlier, I suspect your possible hermaphroditism is simply because your body hasn't finished transforming you into a girl. I doubt you've always been this way but there's only so much the non-magical world can understand in the absence of magic."

"Dan's right, if Hermione hadn't introduced you as Harry Potter we never would've known the difference," Emma said as she stood and walked over to the girls sitting on the couch. She reached out to take the redhead's unoccupied hand and gently squeezed. Deciding to ignore the fact her daughter was holding hands with another girl, the petite brown haired woman continued softly, "Do you have a name in mind honey? Something we can call you besides Harry?"

"I… I haven't really thought about it much Mrs. Granger," Harry stammered as her cheeks turned pink from the warmth and acceptance she could hear in the older woman's voice.

"Does Harriet sound appealing to you?" Hermione asked teasingly as she gently squeezed her friend's hand despite the fact her mother could clearly see the action.

"No. If I'm going to change my name, I'm going to follow Mum's family tradition of naming their daughters after flowers," the last Potter said with a huge smile on her face. "Besides, if I want to get away from Harry, it makes little sense to name myself something that could still use Harry as a nickname. If I'm going to do this, I would want a name that's completely different. I might decide to go with something like Jasmine or Rose, maybe Heather despite the fact it shares its first letter with Harry. I could also take Mum's name, Lily, though I think I'd rather use that as my middle name. Holly is too close to Harry and Harriet is just plain awful."

Hermione and Emma couldn't help themselves and started giggling at Harry's last comment as Dan climbed out of his recliner and headed towards the gathered group of females near the couch. Kneeling in front of his temporary charge, he said in a warm tone, "Regardless of what name you ultimately decide for yourself, I'm glad Hermione has such a sweet, wonderful and caring girl as her best friend. Emma and I have talked about it and we agree, you are welcome here anytime and as far as we're concerned, you're family."

Harry stared at the elder Grangers in shock, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes as she asked faintly, "Family?"

"That's right honey," Emma said gently as she cupped Harry's face while tears spilled out of the girl's eyes and started running down her cheeks. "You may not be an official Granger, but as far as we're concerned you're family."

Hermione released her friend's hand just before the redhead launched herself into her mother's arms, sobbing in happiness she had a family that loved and accepted her for who she truly was. The brunette wiped her own tearing eyes and smiled as she watched her parents hold and comfort her best friend. She knew the wizarding world wouldn't likely accept Harry's change in name or gender and that things were going to be difficult moving forward. She was glad her friend would have a place in the muggle world that would offer her refuge with adults that genuinely cared for her.

* * *

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* * *

**_Author's Notes: _**

_I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter. I want to thank everyone who has read this story so far and I hope I can retain your interest. Please read and review. Comments and criticism are welcome, I just ask you to be nice about it. _

_Publish Date: January 29__th__, 2020_


	3. Soul Searching, part II

Disclaimer:

Sadly, I do not own the amusement park that is Hogwarts, or the colorful characters J.K. Rowling has created for us. I've considered writing a transgender story for awhile now and have decided to try my hand at it. Like any story using this as a premise, Harry will be OoC but that can't really be helped considering her outlook and the things that happen to her. I hope you enjoy it.

#foreign language#, *parseltongue*, "spoken", '_thoughts_'

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**The Marauders' Daughter**

Chapter Two

_Soul Searching, part II_

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**(Friday, July 2****nd****, 1993, Early Morning)**

A week later, Harry awoke just before dawn as had been her custom for most her life. Once the Dursleys had deemed her old enough to work, they'd never allowed her sleep in as she'd always had to make sure breakfast was ready before Vernon left for work. Even at Hogwarts, despite the more comfortable bed, she'd never really been able to sleep all that well because her dorm mates weren't exactly the quietest group of boys she'd had the misfortune of rooming with. Knowing how unlikely she would be able to fall back to sleep, Harry decided to climb out of her bed and watch the sun rise. It was a ritual she had performed every morning while staying with the Grangers.

"Thank you for accepting me into your family and treating me as though I were your own daughter," the redhead whispered, her hands clasped over her heart as she felt the warm sunlight gently caress her skin. She loved feeling like a part of a family despite how strange and unfamiliar it felt. She had become so used to being mistreated, whether by the Dursleys or her peers at Hogwarts; she had never truly believed she would ever have a family who genuinely loved her. While she was reasonably certain her parents had loved her, she couldn't remember much about them.

Given how similar she looked to Lily, she couldn't help but wonder if she was hearing her mother's voice every time she spoke as well. There seemed to be only minor differences between the two of them now. During the previous week, her fiery red shoulder length hair had grown until it reached the middle of her back and her emerald green eyes had brightened even more. For all intents and purposes, she looked like a twelve year old Lily Evans who would turn thirteen in less than a month.

Interestingly enough, she had discovered she would no longer need her glasses. She had woken up one morning and could see everything with perfect clarity. At first she'd thought she had slept in her glasses but that had turned out to not be the case. It had been a fun little ceremony when she'd dumped them in the rubbish bin with a huge smile on her face. She had never liked having to wear glasses and felt they were nothing but a liability.

Once her morning ritual was complete and she had taken care of her ablutions, Harry made her bed and cleaned her room before making sure her trunk was packed. She pulled out a light pink floral print top, a pair of blue jeans and an off-white belt before changing out of her light blue floral print pajamas. While Hermione seemed to favor nightshirts, she preferred pajamas as they were more like shirts and pants than a short dress. Glancing at one of her training bras and her own developing chest, Harry grimaced at the thought of having to get used to wearing something up top.

Thinking about her body brought back memories of the sonogram they had received in the post only the day before and the subsequent _Talk_ she'd had with Emma immediately afterward. According to the results, she had two fully formed ovaries along with a developing uterus. As far as they could tell, her transformation was nearly complete and she would likely be a normal girl by the time it was finished. Her male anatomy was practically non-existent, which made wearing panties a lot more comfortable and she nearly felt confident enough to wear skirts and dresses in public.

While part of her had been grateful for the knowledge, the rest of her was mortified by that same knowledge and what her body was likely to put her through over the next several years as she continued to grow and develop. She was especially disgusted with the idea she'd have to suffer a monthly period. For the first time she could recall since her transformation had begun, Harry had started wondering whether being a girl was really what she wanted. She started feeling better about the whole thing when Hermione told her the magical world had potions to help witches deal with their monthlies.

* * *

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* * *

Two hours later, after enjoying the relaxing breakfast she had prepared as a thank you, the Grangers and Harry climbed into the family Mercedes and headed north towards London. They had plenty of time before their early afternoon flight from Heathrow so there was no reason to rush. Besides, they needed to drop her off at the Leaky Cauldron so she'd have a place to stay for the month they would be gone.

"Thank you for your hospitality Mr. and Mrs. Granger," the redhead said with a smile as she lightly squeezed her best friend's hand.

"You're family Harry, there's no need to thank us," Emma said with a warm smile. "I'm sorry you couldn't join us honey. Even if we had tried to expedite the process, we never would've been able to get your passport in time. Hopefully, we'll have that sorted and the four of us can go somewhere together next year."

"It's fine ma'am, there are a few things I need to take care of in Diagon Alley before school starts anyway," the last Potter said softly as she glanced out her window at the passing countryside. "Besides, you haven't had much alone time with Hermione this last year and September will be here before we know it."

"Harry, we're only going to be gone a month, not the rest of summer. You're more than welcome to stay with us again when we return," Dan said as he glanced at the girls in the rearview mirror. He still wasn't sure what to think about the girls' tendency to hold hands. Emma had assured him it was normal, but he wasn't so sure. If Harry was a boy, would his wife still consider it normal? Probably not, they'd likely be trying to discourage the two of them from dating instead. Why was it different with girls? He knew he had never wanted to hold hands with his best friend when he'd been that age.

"I'd like that sir, thank you," Harry replied with a smile. "Hopefully I'll have decided on my new name by then as well."

"That's one of the things you need to do this summer isn't it, registering your new name and sex with the Ministry?" Emma asked.

"I'm going to try to go through Gringotts, but yes," the redhead replied with a grimace, knowing her upcoming years were likely to be problematic unless she could somehow make 'Harry Potter' disappear entirely. She knew many in the magical world would be upset if their savior, the so-called Boy-Who-Lived, became a girl. She also knew many purebloods, horrible families like the Malfoys, would try to take advantage of her simply because she was an orphaned heiress to a Noble and Ancient House. Would remaining 'Harry Potter' and male be easier? With regard to the wizarding world probably, but living with herself? Not at all. Regardless of how awful the impending storm was likely to be, she knew she needed to follow her heart for her own peace of mind and that meant being true to herself.

Hermione seemed to sense something was troubling her friend and gave her hand a gentle squeeze as if to say, 'I'm here for you Harry, no matter what.'

"That wouldn't affect the non-magical world though, so you'll probably still need to go through the courts to get it done here," Dan said. He was certain there was more to it since Harry would need to change her gender marker as well. Knowing how much his daughter loved research, he continued with a smirk, "That's something we can research when we return and hopefully have resolved before you return to school. If not, well, you're not exactly living in the non-magical world most of the year anyway and we can deal with it over the winter hols."

Hermione's eyes lit up at the prospect of helping her best friend with research and said, "Harry, I don't want you doing any research on this by yourself, got it? This is something we can do together when we get back."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the taller girl and nodded as she said slyly, "Of course, I would never dare to deny you your love for research. Liable to zap me with a stinging hex…"

The quartet giggled/laughed at that and Hermione grinned as she gently squeezed her companion's hand. The rest of the journey northward passed with idle chatter about one thing or another as the family of four simply enjoyed one another's company.

* * *

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* * *

An hour later, the Grangers and Harry arrived at the Leaky Cauldron. After finding a nearby place to park, the quartet spilled out the car and spent the next several minutes saying their goodbyes. Dan popped the boot and grunted as he pulled out Harry's trunk.

"I'll be back in a few minutes Mum, Dad," Hermione said as she grabbed Hedwig's empty cage. Neither she nor Harry had believed the snowy owl would've wanted to remain in her cage on their drive and had told her to meet them at the Leaky Cauldron.

"Hermione, honey, we have a flight to catch," Emma said as she checked her watch. "We don't have that much time."

"I won't be long Mum, I promise. I just want to make sure Harry will be okay and help her with her stuff," the brunette said as she gave her parents the most adorable puppy dog look she could muster. It was the same one she'd used on them when she had originally asked if her best friend could stay over.

"Come here Harry, I want to give you a hug before you go," she said as walked up to her pseudo-daughter and wrapped her arms around the smaller girl's lithe frame. "I'll miss you honey. Be a good girl and try to stay out of trouble."

"I will, Emma," Harry said hesitantly as she stepped back and watched the older woman's body language for signs of displeasure at the use of her name.

Emma simply laughed as she playfully mussed the redhead's hair and said, "So _now _you start addressing me by name. Better late than never I suppose. We'll talk more about your guardianship when we get back."

After several appointments with Doctor Burnstrum, the psychologist Emma's receptionist had found for her, Harry had broken down one evening and told the Grangers everything about how she had been mistreated by her relatives. Not even a quarter of the way through, she'd found herself wrapped in a crying Hermione and Emma's loving arms while Dan paced back and forth raging about the injustices of her life. The elder Grangers had then asked whether she'd like them to become her legal guardians and the four of them would become a family for real. Just as she had when they had accepted her gender identity, Harry completely lost control of her emotions and started crying in earnest. It had taken nearly an hour for her to calm down and she had wound up falling asleep in her best friend's arms.

Dan walked over while dragging her trunk and said, "It's been a pleasure getting to know the real you Harry and we'll see you when we get back. Stay safe young lady."

"I will Dan, I promise," the redhead replied with a smile as she grabbed her trunk. "I'll see you all when you get back. Have a safe trip!"

* * *

Harry and Hermione slowly walked towards the Leaky Cauldron feeling depressed. The two of them had been neigh inseparable for the last several weeks and neither of them wanted to have to wait a month to be together again. Not when they were drifting even closer than they had been before her transformation and Hermione's petrification. They walked into the seedy looking pub and looked around, frowning at the dingy atmosphere as they approached the bar. Just like every other time they had been inside, the place was dark, dirty and looked as though it belonged in the middle ages. For most of its patrons it had a certain appeal, but the two of them found it a bit sketchier than they were comfortable with.

"Excuse me, sir?" the redhead asked as she set her trunk on the floor and waited patiently for the bald, hunchbacked man attending the bar to acknowledge her. Once the barkeeper had finished drying a glass and gave her his full attention, she continued, "I was wondering if I could rent a room for a month."

Tom raised an eyebrow at the two girls and asked, "Where are your parents Miss?"

"They're somewhere far away, I'm not sure where," the last Potter replied with a sniff as she wiped her eye as though she were trying to dry a tear. "Please sir, I won't be any trouble, I promise. I just need a place to stay for awhile."

Hermione stared at her friend in shock, awed at the girl's act and watched in amusement as the barkeeper's resolve crumbled.

"There, there Miss, 'course you can stay. Can't have a pretty lass like you sleeping on the streets now," Tom said hastily as he turned towards the back wall where several keys hung on hooks. Grabbing one labeled '207', he handed her the key and said, "Here's your room key. Breakfast's at 6:00am and dinner's at 6:00pm. You can order anything on the menu anytime between 5:00am and 10:00pm."

"How much would it cost for the month?" Harry asked with a smile as she pocketed her room key.

"Two galleons a week should suffice," the barkeeper replied as he studied his newest guest. The girl seemed dressed nicely enough, for muggle fashion anyway, and didn't seem to be really hurting for money. "Now, is this room for both of you or just you Miss?"

"Just me; my friend here is going traveling with her family and she just wanted to make sure I'd have a place to stay while she was gone," the redhead replied as she fished eight galleons out of her money satchel and handed them to the barkeeper.

Tom simply nodded and said, "I hope you have a pleasant stay Miss," before turning toward Hermione and continuing, "and I hope you have a pleasant trip Miss."

"Thank you sir," the girls chorused before heading up the stairs towards room 207.

* * *

Harry unlocked the door to her room and walked inside, dragging her trunk behind her only to frown at the less than stellar accommodations. Compared with her cupboard at Privet Drive, it was a paradise because she had a double sized bed, a wardrobe, a full length mirror, a desk and two chairs. Compared with her room at the Grangers, which Dan and Emma had assured her was hers, it was a dive. The furniture was old and chipped, looking very much like the rest of the pub with its ancient atmosphere. Fortunately, there wasn't a chamber pot in the corner to complete the medieval look.

"Home sweet home," the redhead groused as she dragged her trunk towards the corner of the room so it would be out the way.

Hermione frowned at her friend's rude comment as she put Hedwig's cage on the desk and said, "It'll only be for a month Harry, then you'll be able to come home. Besides, you've lived in places far worse than this before."

"Guess I've gotten spoiled living with you and your parents," Harry said sheepishly as she blushed in embarrassment.

"Where are the showers and lavatory?" the brunette asked as she looked around the small room.

"I think it's a communal at the end of the hall," the last Potter replied as she closed and locked the door leading to the hallway.

"Well, that's not much different than Hogwarts so you should be alright," Hermione said as she looked out the window towards Diagon Alley.

"Except at Hogwarts they're separated by gender, I don't think these are," Harry said with a shiver as she joined her companion by the window.

"Oh," the older girl replied with a grimace.

"Yeah," the redhead agreed with a heavy sigh. "Still, it beats Privet Drive so I'll be okay. I can finish my summer homework, spend some time in Diagon Alley and get started on our third year coursework. I'm planning on being top student this year."

"We'll see about that," Hermione replied with a grin as she wrapped her arms around her best friend's lower back and pulled the smaller girl into a heartfelt embrace. Gently rubbing the redhead's back, she sighed sadly and said, "I really wish we could've stayed home this year instead of going to France, you wouldn't have had to stay here all by yourself. I'm going to miss you so much Harry."

"I know," Harry replied with a sad smile. "I'm really going to miss you too Hermione. These last few weeks have been amazing and it's going to be hard waiting a month before we can be together again. Between getting settled and all those doctors' appointments, not to mention the time we spent in the library conducting research and your parents work schedule, we never really had much of a chance to do anything outside Crawley."

"When I get back, we will," the brunette said as she stepped back so they were holding each other's hands. "Remember, we're coming back in several weeks and we'll have most of August before we have to return to school. That'll be plenty of time for us to do some day trips or even a long weekend or two."

"I'm not all that bothered if we don't go anywhere to be honest," the last Potter said as she gently squeezed her friend's hands. "I just wanted to have a good summer with my best friend and her parents."

"Speaking of parents, I'd better go before Mum and Dad get too upset," Hermione said with a heavy sigh as she gently squeezed her companion's hands.

"Have a safe trip Hermione, I'll see you when you get back," Harry said as she started to let go of her friend's hands, tears beginning to gather in the corner of her eyes. She noticed Hermione's cinnamon brown eyes had started tearing up as well.

Both of them knew their separation was going to be rough and they would miss one another terribly. Ever since Hermione had been cured of her petrification nearly a month prior, the two of them had become much closer, almost to the point of sisters. Neither of them could imagine life without the other nor did they want to. That was especially true following their heart to heart conversation in the park when she'd finally decided to stop running and accepted herself as a girl. The problem was neither of them really wanted to be sisters, but something much greater instead…

They just weren't exactly sure how to go about doing it.

"Do me a favor, and at least _try_ to stay out of trouble while I'm gone," the brunette commanded with a playful grin. She started giggling when the younger girl pouted and continued in a light teasing tone, "You're cute when you pout Harry; did you know that?"

Before the girl in question could react, Hermione leaned forward and gave her best friend a soft, chaste kiss on the lips. Satisfied with Harry's surprised squeak and the raging blush rapidly spreading across the gobsmacked redhead's face, she grinned to herself before sashaying her hips as she walked towards the door leading to the hallway and her parents.

Harry was stunned. Hermione Granger, her very best friend in the entire world as well as her rock, had just kissed her after a bit of teasing. What did it mean? Since when did Hermione tease? As for the kiss itself, was it merely a friendly gesture between friends or could it be a preview for something deeper? Would her Mirror vision actually come true? Could she and Hermione eventually become a romantic couple as the Mirror of Erised had suggested even though they were both girls?

As she watched her crush leave the room, Harry gently touched her lips with her fingers and whispered, "I will Hermione, I promise."

* * *

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* * *

An hour later and once she had finished eating the lunch she'd ordered, Harry stood in front of the full length mirror in her room and examined her appearance. Her soft pink floral print blouse and daisy-embroidered blue jeans screamed girly-girly muggle but she didn't care, it wasn't like she possessed any witch's robes anyway. Thanks to some carefully applied makeup, courtesy of Emma Granger, as well as her fringe, her horrid scar was very well hidden.

'_I need to go to Gringotts,_' the redhead thought as she tried to decide between casting her glamour or remaining in her true form. She didn't want anyone to take any special notice of her so going as 'Harry Potter' seemed like a bad idea, though how she would access her accounts as a girl she didn't know. Everyone _knew_ Harry Potter was a bespectacled, raven haired, green-eyed boy with a horrible lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. Could she pass herself off as her own long-lost sister? Not likely, since everyone _knew_ Harry Potter was an only child just like her father.

She knew she wouldn't get anywhere trying to deceive the goblins. In fact, they would likely kill her for it. Her 'Harry Potter' mask was just that, a mask, a lie, and not representative of her true self at all. The problem was, only three other people knew the truth about her and none of them worked at the bank.

Ultimately, Harry decided she would go as her true self and hoped she'd be able to conduct her business quietly and discreetly. Over the next several minutes, she grabbed her wand from her trunk, locked and sealed the door to her room and headed downstairs towards the alleyway behind the Leaky Cauldron. She stared at the wall for a couple minutes trying in vain to remember which bricks Hagrid had tapped when she'd been there nearly two years before. Fortunately, an older wizard who seemed to be in far too much of a hurry came along and opened the alleyway for her.

"Than-," she started only to trail off as the man practically tore down the street. She raised an eyebrow at that; uncertain whether she'd ever seen an adult magical run before. It was actually pretty funny and the man looked ridiculous hiking his robe up to his knees so he wouldn't trip. Shrugging her shoulders, the redhead started walking to Gringotts with a smile on her face. It was a beautiful day and the magic of the alley only seemed to enhance the sun's natural comfort.

As she walked by the various shops and their myriad wares, Harry had to discipline herself to _not_ start shopping. She had business with Gringotts that needed to be taken care of as soon as possible. Once that was complete, she could then spend the rest of the month to her heart's content shopping, studying and practicing her magic.

* * *

A few minutes later, Harry arrived at Gringotts. As she passed the goblins standing guard outside, she paused long enough to nod solemnly to them as a show of respect. They nodded back, which surprised her, and she continued inside. When she noticed how many people were standing in queue, the redhead couldn't help but groan quietly to herself. Of course it was busy; it was the wizarding world's version of lunch hour.

She wasn't sure how long she had stood in line before it was finally her turn.

"Yes?" a gruff male voice said irritably as the goblin glared down at her.

"Um, hello there Mr. Goblin," Harry started anxiously as she fiddled with her hands, unsure what she should do with them. She heard a derisive comment behind her and tried to ignore it as she continued, "I'm s-sorry; I'm not really sure how I should go about doing this. I… I was wondering who I would talk to about taking a heritage test."

"That would be through that door over there," the goblin sneered as he pointed towards a door guarded by two goblins and clearly marked 'Inheritance Office'. "Next!"

Harry turned to look where the goblin was pointing and blushed as several of the nearby adults grumbled while others simply laughed.

"Out of my way _girl_," a snooty blond haired man demanded as he roughly pushed her out of the way and walked towards the teller.

When Harry turned to see who'd shoved her, she felt the blood drain out of her face when she noticed the rude man was none other than Lucius Malfoy. She still had nightmares about the last time she'd seen him. It was right after her meeting with Dumbledore in McGonagall's office at the end of second year. After she had tricked the vile man into freeing his house elf, Dobby, he'd then tried to curse her. She wasn't sure what he had started casting, his voice had been garbled and unintelligible, but thankfully the elf had saved her by banishing the blond bigot.

Dobby, now that was someone she hadn't thought much about for the last several weeks. As she scurried towards the door marked 'Inheritance Office', Harry mentally vowed she would try to contact the elf once she was back at the Leaky Cauldron and see how he was doing.

* * *

The guards nodded as she approached and opened the door leading to the inheritance office. She thanked them as she fought down her earlier embarrassment and walked down a short hallway before coming to another door. Before she could knock, the door swung open revealing an older goblin sitting behind a huge dark wooden desk that took up most of the space in the small office. Behind the elder goblin stood two guards, each looking fierce with their spear-like weapons readied.

Harry gulped nervously as she entered the office and sat in the only chair provided.

"How may I be of assistance, Witch?" the banker rumbled without preamble in a deep gravely voice.

The redhead couldn't tell whether the goblin was hostile or not based on his tone, but the tension in the air seemed stifling. It reminded her of typical lessons with Snape. "Um, I need to take a heritage test in order to find out what sort of assets I have available to me. I will also need a replacement key."

The goblin growled as he narrowed his eyes and demanded impatiently, "Why don't you have your key?"

"Um, when I was here before my first year at Hogwarts two years ago, Hagrid had my key for some reason and I never got it back," Harry said as she looked down at the floor. "I know it was stupid and I should've insisted he return it, but it honestly never occurred to me."

"Very well, we'll do an inheritance test and you will be provided with a new key should it be determined you have an account with us," the banker said in the same gravely voice as before. Idly waving his calloused and wrinkled greenish hand, a small bowl decorated with ceremonial runes, a copper knife and a platinum colored piece of fine vellum appeared on the desk. "Now, because I do not know whether you actually have any assets with us, regardless of your earlier statement, I will we need the twenty galleon fee up front."

The last Potter nodded as she reached into her coin purse and withdrew twenty gold coins. She knew she was running out of money and was glad she'd had enough on hand. She placed the coins on the table and waited.

Once the coins had disappeared, the goblin commanded, "Take the knife, prick your thumb and allow three drops to fall upon the vellum. Your thumb will heal once you have done so."

Harry nodded as she proceeded to grab the knife and prick her left thumb. It stung, but considering everything she had been through over the last two years at Hogwarts and the previous decade with the Dursleys, it was nothing. Allowing her blood to drip, she watched in fascination as a family tree started forming on the vellum. After the third drop, her thumb healed as though she had never pricked it.

"Well now, isn't this is a surprise, Harry Potter," the banker said with a toothy grin. "I'm sure Sharpclaw will be most interested in meeting you, especially since you're obviously not a boy or wearing any kind of glamour. Before you ask, Sharpclaw is the Potter's account manager and deals with everything pertaining to it. Two guards will be here momentarily and they will escort you to his office. Our business is concluded."

"Thank you Mr. Goblin, I wasn't sure whether I would be able to prove my identity," Harry said as she stood and bowed respectably. The goblin nodded back as the implements of her heritage test vanished.

A few moments later the door opened and two goblins stepped into the room.

"Take her to Sharpclaw," the older goblin ordered tersely. "Make sure she isn't seen."

Harry swallowed nervously at the potential implications of the goblin's last command as she took in small creature's impassive visage. She couldn't help but wonder whether she was about to be executed or if they were trying to respect her privacy. The looks on the guards' faces didn't comfort her either.

* * *

The next few minutes were tense as the guards led her through the bank utilizing tunnels she would've expected to be off limits to everyone who wasn't at least part-goblin. Neither of the guards spoke during their journey and their weapons were drawn. They hadn't confiscated her wand so she didn't think she was in trouble, but she also knew they could kill her without much effort if they chose. It was unnerving to say the least.

After what felt like forever, the guards finally stopped in front of a golden door with the inscription 'Account Manager Sharpclaw' in platinum lettering.

"In here, human," one of the guards sneered as the other opened the door. With little fanfare, the goblin standing beside her grabbed her arm and then promptly shoved her inside before his companion slammed the door.

"Miss Potter, my name is Sharpclaw," an older goblin wearing a nice three piece suit said kindly. "On behalf of the Account Managers' Union, I apologize for the guards' rough demeanor. They have yet to learn not every witch or wizard is rude and out to ruin us. Please take a moment to compose yourself and have a seat, we have much to discuss."

"Thank you Account Manager Sharpclaw," Harry replied as she sat in the blood-red, plush chair provided before noticeably relaxing. She glanced around the office and noticed, just like the Heritage Office, that is was largely taken up by the huge, cherry wood desk in front of her. Unlike the Heritage Office however, there were no guards or other people in the room with them. The walls were bare other than a row of filing cabinets along one wall. There were no photographs or knickknacks that would suggest a personal life despite the fact family meant everything to the Goblin Nation.

"Sharpclaw will do," the goblin said with a smile. A toothy grin that grew even larger when he noticed the redhead's nervous reaction. He wasn't really trying to frighten the young girl, but a smiling goblin tended to unnerve the vast majority of witches and wizards who conducted business with the bank.

"Now, first things first Miss Potter," Sharpclaw started as he leaned forward slightly and stared at the nervous twelve year old girl sitting in front of him. "We know from your Hereditary Test that your legal name is Harold James Potter and your legal gender is Male. I don't know what kind of magic has caused this, but you are clearly not a he nor do I imagine you wish to be addressed in a masculine manner. How did this come about?"

"I think everything may have started while I was still in primary, before I discovered I was a wizard and accepted at Hogwarts," Harry replied softly as she laid her hands in her lap. "While I was there first year, so 1991-1992, I found a strange mirror in an unused classroom known as the Mirror of Erised. Are you familiar with it or what it does?"

"No, can't say I've ever heard of such a thing," the goblin answered as he briefly contemplated the possibilities.

"Basically what it does, is show you your heart's true desire," the redhead said as she briefly considered how much she wanted to reveal. Figuring the goblins wouldn't care about human same sex relationships, she decided to tell the whole truth. "When I looked in the mirror, I saw an older version of myself as I am now, along with someone I'm hoping will eventually become my girlfriend and my long lost parents. In reality, I was still a boy at the time and too young to really understand what it meant."

"That couldn't have been easy. Still, for you to go through a complete gender transformation..." Sharpclaw said before trailing off as he glanced at the vellum displaying his client's family tree. He quirked an eyebrow in mild interest when he noticed another irregularity, but decided to delay discussing the issue until the redhead had finished her explanation.

Harry nodded as she continued her story, "It wasn't. Last winter hols, Hermione and I secretly brewed Polyjuice potion in an abandoned girls' lavatory for a bit of espionage. Well, I started asking her what it was like to be a girl and she suggested I use the Polyjuice to turn into her for an hour and find out for myself. I couldn't believe how much better I felt, not because I was her, but simply because I was a girl. Until that moment I had never felt freer. Since then, my body has been slowly feminizing itself on its own and now that I've almost completed my transformation, I'm even happier than I was then."

Sharpclaw nodded as he idly tapped his claws on the desk for a few moments. "We will need to go over your heritage test, but am I correct in assuming you would like to formally change your name and gender marker?"

"Yes please," the last Potter replied as her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "I can't be Harry James Potter anymore. I can't be a boy anymore. More than anything, I just want to be me."

"Very well, we can take care of that for you Miss Potter," the goblin said with a nod. "Now, I'll show you what your current heritage test reveals and then we'll proceed from there."

.

**Heritage/Inheritance Test:**

_Given Name:_ Harold James Potter

_Sex:_ Male

_Date of Birth:_ July 31st, 1980

_Father's Name:_ James Charlus Potter (deceased)

_Mother's Name:_ Lily Marigold Potter nèe Evans (deceased)

_Blood-Adopted Godfather's Name:_ Sirius Orion Black III (incarcerated)

_Paternal Grandfather's Name:_ Charlus Henry Potter (deceased)

_Paternal Grandmother's Name:_ Dorea Violetta Potter nèe Black (deceased)

_Maternal Grandfather's Name:_ unknown (muggle)

_Maternal Grandmother's Name:_ unknown (muggle)

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_Unclaimed Titles/Inheritances:_

Heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter

Heir Apparent to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black

Heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Peverell

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Harry stared at the written portion of her heritage test as her eyes welled up with tears. She had known her parents were dead for a long time. Seeing it in writing, however, along with grandparents she'd never known anything about, only seemed to make it more real. She was alone, the last Potter, the last of her family.

Sharpclaw grimaced as he watched the redhead fall apart in front of him and squirmed uncomfortably. He had never been very good at comforting children, not even his own. To think he could offer solace to a human child was ludicrous and he decided his only recourse was to wait until his client had composed herself and was ready to proceed.

After several minutes of quiet crying, Harry finally managed to regain control of her emotions and tried to compose herself as best she could. She glanced at her account manager and noticed the stoic expression on the older goblin's face. Smiling sheepishly, she clasped her hands in her lap and whispered, "I'm sorry…"

"Nothing to apologize for Miss Potter, I imagine this must be difficult for you," the goblin said in as gentle a tone his guttural voice could manage.

"It is," the last Potter replied quietly as she lowered her eyes. "Seeing it in print like this, it's like losing them all over again. If I ever find out where they're buried, and I'm able to visit them…"

"It'll happen all over again," Sharpclaw finished with a nod. "I know this isn't my place, nor my forte, but all is not lost Miss Potter. Your parents, indeed your entire family, live on within you and I'll bet wherever they are, they would be proud of you."

"Really?" Harry asked softly as she looked up, her eyes shining with hope as another tear slipped down her cheek.

"Really," the goblin affirmed softly. "When you are ready to continue, there is something very interesting about your family history I think you should see. I assume you know how to read a family tree, yes?"

"Yes."

"Alright, take a look at this," Sharpclaw said as he pointed at a row of three ovals towards the bottom of the vellum with another directly below them. The first oval contained the name Sirius Orion Black III. The second and third ovals contained the names James Charlus Potter and Lily Marigold Potter nèe Evans. The latter two were connected to one another by a dashed line, indicating the people in question had been married. What was strange, however, was the fact that all three of the ovals were equally connected to hers, suggesting she had not one, but two fathers along with one mother.

"There are two interesting irregularities in your most recent history," the goblin continued with a hint of excitement in his voice. "One, you'll notice Sirius Black's connection to you is the same as James and Lily's. Like the muggle world, adoptions in the magical world generally do not create such strong links between two parties. Blood-adoptions, however, are a completely different story. In the magical world, a blood-adoption bonds the people in question by blood as though they're biological family. You, for all intents and purposes, have two fathers and one mother.

"The other irregularity ties in with the first," Sharpclaw continued as he pointed towards the ovals showing her grandparents. "If you look at the Black family tree included in your personal history, you'll notice you are linked in two instances a generation apart from one another. That is enough to make you part of the Black family, and as such, its rightful heir after your father Sirius."

While her account manager was busy explaining, Harry simply stared at her family tree in shock. She was descended from three magical families? The fact her heritage test showed Sirius was incarcerated, rather than deceased, suggested she had a least one living magical relative as well. While she loved the Grangers and wouldn't trade them for anything, the fact she might have a magical family waiting for her filled her with a sense of excitement and apprehension.

"I'm sure you're wondering where Sirius is and what he's allegedly done to be incarcerated," Sharpclaw said as gently as he could. At his client's nod, he continued in a somber tone, "Sirius Black, Lord Apparent to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, has been locked away in Azkaban Prison since early November of 1981 for the betrayal of the Potter family and murder of thirteen muggles."

"That doesn't seem right," the redhead mused aloud as she considered her manager's words and what her heritage test was showing. "If Sirius really is my father by way of blood-adoption, how could he still be alive if he betrayed my parents? Wouldn't his magic have killed him for breaking his oath and acting against my parents and me?"

"Which is why I said _allegedly_," the goblin replied stiffly as he clenched his fists in anger. "As far as I know, there was never any real proof of Sirius' guilt other than simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There is plenty of evidence against, but the wizards and witches of your society decided to forgo justice and summarily tossed him in their horrid prison without a trial instead. The fact he was still alive when they captured him should've been a clue he hadn't betrayed your family. Magic, and by that I mean magic with a capital M, has a very dim view of Oathbreakers and exacts a heavy price for those who do."

Harry mulled over her manager's words for several seconds before her face scrunched up in confusion. "What did you mean by magic with a capital M?"

Sharpclaw chuckled for a few seconds and asked, "Tell me something Miss Potter; you use magic to cast spells and cause things to happen correct?" At the girl's nod, he continued, "Well, where do you think that power comes from? How do you think bonds, oaths and promises are formed and reinforced? That's Magic with a capital M, the power behind everything we do as magical beings."

"I see," the last Potter acknowledged.

"Miss Potter, due to wizarding inheritance laws, you will not be able to claim your Ladyships until your thirteenth birthday," the goblin explained as he clasped his hands together on his desk. "Now, seeing as how you will need to be Harold James Potter in order to claim your families' estates, I would highly recommend delaying any formal changes of your name and sex until after we have had the chance to settle your inheritance. I'll warn you now, there will be a fair amount of parchmentwork required, so I would I like to meet with you early in the morning. Is this agreeable to you?"

"That'll be fine," Harry replied with a nod. Remembering what she'd had to go through earlier, she asked, "How am I going to meet with you? I don't have my key nor do I look anything like Harry Potter. If possible, I would prefer it if my true identity wasn't revealed in the lobby."

Sharpclaw nodded as he briefly considered the problem. Nodding decisively, he grinned and said, "I will meet you in the lobby at 8:00am on the thirty-first of this month. Unfortunately, you will need to be under guard until we have returned to this office and I have completed an identity check. This is for your own protection as well as ours. Once that is complete and everything checks out, we will be able to continue. In the meantime, I shall freeze your accounts so unauthorized parties cannot access your vaults until you have claimed your inheritance and decided who will be allowed access."

"For the foreseeable future, the only one I want to allow access to my accounts is me," the redhead said firmly as she clenched her fists in her lap. While she lacked proof anyone had taken money or items from her personal and family vaults, she wasn't willing to leave anything to chance. The fact that Dumbledore had possessed her father's old cloak made her wonder what else the man had _borrowed_ over the years. She didn't want to think badly of the Headmaster, but she didn't feel she could trust him as she had in the past either.

"Very well, I shall take care of it. Is there anything else Gringotts can do you for today?"

"I need to make a withdrawal, will that be possible?" Harry asked as she checked her coin purse.

"So long as you do so before the end of the day, yes," Sharpclaw replied. "I'll be freezing your accounts and beginning a very thorough audit after closing so you'll need to withdraw however much you feel you'll need for the next few weeks as your accounts will be unavailable until the thirty-first. We shall find out whether anyone has been illegally accessing your accounts and what they've withdrawn, if anything, and recover it for you along with a twenty-five percent penalty split evenly between you and Gringotts. When you are ready, I'll take you to your trust vault so you can get what you need."

"Thank you Sharpclaw."

* * *

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* * *

It was early evening and Harry was in her room working on her summer potions homework when she remembered she was going to try to contact Dobby and see how the elf was doing. Since she planned to change her name and 'transfer' to Hogwarts for her third year, she honestly didn't know why she was bothering to do her summer homework. 'Harry Potter' wouldn't be attending to turn it in and no one could expect a transfer student to have it completed.

After she'd withdrawn 500 galleons from her trust fund, Harry had decided to go shopping for everything she thought she might need for her upcoming year. The redhead figured if she was denied a place, she could always do a term of self-study until she had gotten everything straightened out with the school.

Her first stop had been Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. There was no way she was going to 'transfer' to a 'new' school wearing her old boy's robes, especially since she had finally accepted herself as a girl. She had asked for them to be made from acromantula silk, figuring she was well off and could afford the best. Besides, 'Harry' had always looked poor with 'his' hand-me-downs because 'he' hadn't wanted the Dursleys to know 'he' had money. Since she had no intention of ever returning to Privet Drive, she saw no reason to continue the charade. There was also the fact she was going to be Lady Potter in a few weeks and wanted to look the part.

After ordering her robes, she had then gone to the apothecary and bought an advanced potion kit along with several individual higher quality ingredients for her own purposes. Despite Snape being a condescending arse, she wanted to do really well in Potions as that would only help her in the future. Aurors and Healers needed a NEWT in Potions and she liked the idea of helping others.

Her next stop had been Flourish and Blotts. While browsing the shelves for any and all books that looked interesting along with the textbooks she would need for her third year, she couldn't help but think she was starting to turn into Hermione. She had always been interested in learning; she had just allowed herself to be mediocre her first year and a half because she hadn't wanted to lose Ron as a friend. In retrospect, she should've tried a lot harder and been more like Hermione, at least from a scholarly perspective.

The redhead thought the book for Care of Magical Creatures was interesting. It looked like a magical creature in its own right as it was covered with hair and had what looked like a mouth along with a pair of eyes. It had even attacked her the first time she'd tried to opened the thing. She'd screamed while hurling the book away from her only for the deranged magical construct to renew its attack. As the book charged, Harry whipped out her wand and blasted it with a fireball. Suffice it to say, the manager had not been pleased by her actions and it had taken quite a bit of apologizing and restitution to convince him to allow her to remain in the store. He'd then instructed her how to open the book so it wouldn't happen again.

"Dobby," Harry called as she set her homework aside and climbed into her bed. She was surprised a few moments later when she heard the pop of elf-apparation from the middle of her room.

"The bestest and most wonderful Mistress Harry Potter calls Dobby?" the elf squeaked happily as he bounced up and down in excitement.

She frowned slightly at the excessive titles she'd been given and patted the space beside her on the bed as she said, "Hello Dobby, I would like to talk to you if you don't mind."

"Mistress wants Dobby to sit with her? Like an equal?" Dobby asked, his already large tennis-ball eyes growing even larger. At the redhead's nod, he climbed into the bed and sat beside his idol and savior.

"Obviously you recognize me on some level," Harry started only to pause when Dobby nodded his head very quickly.

"Yous be the great Harry Potter ma'am, the greatest witch in the world and the one to free Dobby from his wicked masters," the elf gushed excitedly.

"How do you recognize me? The last time you saw me I looked like a boy," the last Potter asked as she examined the dirty towel the poor elf was still wearing.

"Dobby be following his mistress's magic," Dobby replied uncertainly.

Harry considered that for a few moments and nodded before asking, "How have you been doing since we last saw one another?"

"Dobby be having trouble Mistress, no one be wanting Dobby to work for them," the elf answered as tears started forming in his eyes.

"Is there anything I can do?" the redhead asked as she wrapped her arms around the smaller creature and pulled him into a hug. The irony of the situation was not lost on her. What she was trying to do for Dobby, her best friend had done so many times for her since the beginning of summer break as she struggled with her gender identity.

"Mistress be wanting to help Dobby?"

"Of course Dobby, what can I do?" Harry asked as she gently rubbed the smaller creature's back.

"Mistress is too kind wanting to help Dobby," the elf wailed. After several minutes, Dobby finally calmed down and slowly withdrew from their hug. "If Mistress really wanting to help Dobby, Mistress can bond with Dobby so Dobby becomes full Potter elf."

"I thought you wanted to be free, to do as you please and not have a master," the last Potter replied in confusion as she considered the elf's words. The fact Dobby mentioned becoming a full Potter elf seemed to suggest he was already a partial one, which would explain how he could follow her magic and was calling her mistress.

"Mistress not be understanding. Dobby wanted to be free of evil masters, but also wanting to serve the bestest witch in the world, Harry Potter," Dobby explained excitedly as he started bouncing up and down on the bed like a hyperactive five year old child.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Harry asked in a solemn tone. At the elf's exuberant affirmative, she continued in the same tone, "I come from the muggle world Dobby, and I find the idea of slavery repugnant. It's wrong for one sentient being to own another and it goes against everything I believe in." When Dobby started wailing and crying again, she wrapped her arms around him and continued softly, "I don't want to be your master Dobby, but I will happily be your friend and would love to have you as a member of my family. Would that be acceptable?"

Dobby pulled back and stared at the amazing twelve year old girl sitting in front of him as he digested her words. She didn't want to own him, but would rather be his friend and family? How could he possibly refuse? It was all he had wanted from the very beginning.

"While you're thinking about it, if you're to become my elf I have several rules I need to tell you," the redhead said in the same solemn tone she had used earlier. When Dobby nodded, she continued.

"Rule One: You are not allowed to punish yourself. If you think you've done something wrong, I want you to talk to me and I'll decide if and how you'll be punished. I hated seeing you punish yourself when you visited me at Privet Drive and the Hospital Wing.

"Rule Two: You will be given a uniform. These are not clothes Dobby, they are a symbol that says you hold an important position in my family and there are times when you may be called upon to interact with other witches and wizards. I do not want them looking down upon you, me or the Potter family having you show up in what you are wearing now.

"Rule Three: You will have time off. As it is, I'm not going to have a lot of work for you to do because I'm still a student. The reason for the time off is simple; a tired or sick elf can't work as well as a healthy one. I want you well rested and cared for, just like any other member of my family. When I return to Hogwarts, maybe you can join me and Dumbledore will hire you or something. Even if he doesn't, I think you'll make a wonderful spy.

"Rule Four: You are allowed to make suggestions; in fact I will encourage it because I don't know what I'm doing half the time. I've been in the magical world for two years and know little to nothing about how things work. You know a great deal more about magical society and magic in general, and I will always welcome your input. If you feel I'm about to bungle something, please don't hesitate to tell me or make suggestions.

"Rule Five: You are allowed to be creative but please, ask me first if you can in case it interferes with my plans.

"Rule Six: You will be paid. What you do with this money is entirely up to you. I was little more than a slave for ten years Dobby. I worked to the point of exhaustion almost every day and never had much that was mine. I will not do the same to you.

"Finally, rule seven," Harry said gently as she looked at Dobby with a soft smile on her lips, "If you ever want to be free, whether to join another family or simply strike out on your own, please tell me."

"Mistress not be knowing much about House Elves," Dobby said as he considered the redhead's rules. He was glad for the rule regarding punishing himself; he'd hated doing that while enslaved by the Malfoys. He looked down at his dirty towel and thought the uniform rule would be an improvement. Regardless of how little his mistress actually knew about the magical world, she was wise enough to know appearances were important, especially with the older families. The thought of having time off was weird, but he could understand since she was still a student. He especially loved the thought of being a spy and was looking forward to the upcoming school year.

Rules four and five promised to make his time as a Potter elf more interesting and enjoyable. He would be able to protect his mistress before she did something that would get her in trouble. Rule six was interesting, no one had ever offered him pay before. He didn't know what he would use the money for, maybe presents for his mistress and her friends. Rule seven was unsettling, but he also knew it was for her peace of mind as well as his.

"I know I don't Dobby, that's why I need you to teach me," Harry replied. While the thought of owning a slave was still repugnant to her, if Dobby agreed to all her rules she would be getting a friend, family, confidant, and helper all in one. She would ensure Dobby was the best treated house elf in all of wizarding Britain. She just hoped Hermione wouldn't call off their friendship when she found out…

"House Elves be needing magic from witches and wizards to survive," Dobby explained. "If an elf is dismissed by their family or magical institution and can not link with another, they will go insane and die. When a magical family binds an elf, they be getting servant while house elf get magic. Larger families and more powerful magicals mean more magic for elves. Mistress is bestest witch in the world for wanting to take care of Dobby so."

"Alright, assuming you still want to bond with me, how do we go about doing that?" the redhead asked, still uncertain about the prospect of owning a slave even though she intended to treat him like family and had made many rules to ensure his well-being. Knowing the elf would die if he remained free made it an easier pill to swallow.

"Yous place your hands on Dobby's head and say, 'I take Dobby as my house elf'," Dobby said as he jumped off the bed and walked into the middle of the room where they would have more room.

"Are you absolutely certain you wish to do this?" the last Potter asked with concern.

At the elf's overly enthusiastic nod, Harry sighed in resignation and climbed out of her bed as she tried to quell her remaining doubts. Even knowing what it would mean, she couldn't deny the little guy his wish. She placed her hands on the smaller creature's head and said in a solemn tone, "I, Harold James Potter, Heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter, hereby take Dobby as my house elf, to be my friend as well as member of the Potter family, so mote it be."

Dobby gasped, his eyes widening in shock as a bright white glow bathed the two of them in a comforting warmth. Once the glow had dissipated, they separated and Harry could see her elf was standing taller and looked healthier.

"Dobby, was that supposed to happen?" the redhead asked anxiously.

"Dobby not be knowing Mistress," the elf replied nervously. "Dobby never be hearing of glowy magic when bonding house elves."

"I see," Harry replied. Shrugging her shoulders, she climbed into her bed and patted the space beside her as she said, "Come sit with me, we have much to discuss."

* * *

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**_Author's Notes: _**

_I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter. I want to thank everyone who has read this story so far and I hope I can retain your interest. Please read and review. Comments and criticism are welcome, I just ask you to be nice about it. _

_Publish Date: February 12__th__, 2020_


	4. Harry Potter No More

Disclaimer:

Sadly, I do not own the amusement park that is Hogwarts, or the colorful characters J.K. Rowling has created for us. I've considered writing a transgender story for awhile now and have decided to try my hand at it. Like any story using this as a premise, Harry will be OoC but that can't really be helped considering her outlook and the things that happen to her. I hope you enjoy it.

#foreign language#, *parseltongue*, "spoken", '_thoughts_'

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**The Marauders' Daughter**

Chapter Three

_Harry Potter No More_

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**(Friday, July 2****nd****, 1993, Sunset)**

Hermione sighed heavily as she watched the sun steadily slip beneath the horizon from the back deck of their villa overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in Nice, France. Her tawny, bushy curls swayed gently in the warm evening breeze and all she could think about was her best friend sitting alone in her dingy room at the Leaky Cauldron. Was Harry still her best friend or had she irrevocably damaged their relationship when she had taken a chance and pushed for more when she'd kissed the other girl?

'_I probably shouldn't have done that,_' the busy haired brunette thought sadly as a chill ran down her spine. She had wanted to give the redhead something to think about during their month long separation but in hindsight she realized she probably should've waited until they would have a chance to talk about it afterward. Damn her impulsiveness; that was more Harry's shtick than hers, though to be fair, she was also a Gryffindor. Now, she would have to wait until they were reunited or made contact some other way in order to discover the girl's thoughts on the matter.

"Hermione?" Emma called softly as she walked up to her daughter and put her arm around the teenager's shoulders.

The girl in question didn't respond and continued to stare at the beach a few dozen meters in front of her.

"Hermione, sweetheart, what's wrong?" the older woman asked in concern.

"I miss Harry," Hermione replied as she turned to face her mother, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"I know you do honey, but there was no way we could've gotten her documentation squared away in time," Emma replied softly as she pulled her daughter into a hug.

"Why did we have to go anywhere this summer? Couldn't you and Dad have just cancelled the trip?" the brunette asked softly.

"I thought you liked France."

"I do, but Harry's relatives never let her go anywhere," Hermione said as she pulled away from her mother and turned to stare out at the beach again, a tear slipping down her cheek. "We could have gone away for a long weekend or several day trips around England that included her instead. Now, I'm not going to see her for a month."

"Hermione, honey, I know you miss your friend, but please, this trip was supposed to be for the three of us so we could reconnect as a family," Emma said as she laid a hand on her daughter's lower back.

"You called her family, your daughter, when she came out about her transexualism," the bushy haired teenager sniped bitterly as she turned to face her mother again. "Did you really mean that or were you just humoring her?"

"No, of course not," the elder Granger said softly. "We would never do that to her."

"Then why aren't the _four_ us together as a family?" Hermione demanded angrily as she glared at her mother and crossed her arms over her chest. "Why are we here when she's there all alone, especially considering the horrible year she had just had?"

* * *

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* * *

Meanwhile, Harry was sitting on her bed staring at a photograph of her and Hermione with their arms wrapped around one another while standing on the Grangers' back deck. Both of them were wearing jeans and a floral print top, hers a light pink like the one she was wearing presently while Hermione's was white. On their feet were a pair of white, strappy sandals and their hair was styled in a ponytail. The picture was housed in a beautiful silver frame with multiple flowery engravings decorating it. Hermione had a copy of the picture in an identically engraved silver frame sitting on her nightstand beside her bed.

'_I miss you Hermione, so much…_' the redhead thought sadly as she gently traced her best friend's face with a finger, her eyes welling up with tears as her depression worsened. Despite how busy her afternoon had been, she had often thought about Hermione throughout the day and the kiss her best friend had given her. At the time, she'd been too stunned to react but upon reflection, she had enjoyed it and hoped it was a taste of things to come. She had known for awhile her feelings for the brunette were deepening, but she hadn't allowed herself to believe the older girl would ever be interested in her _that_ way, especially if she actually became a girl. She needed to get in touch with Hermione so they could 'talk' about the kiss and what it meant for their friendship.

Harry didn't know how she was going to make it through the next month without going crazy. Sure, she could spend her time finishing summer homework she would never be able to turn in or start working through next year's material, but there was only so much she could realistically do within the confines of her room without causing too much collateral damage. Lacking access to a potions lab made practicing her brewing techniques impossible, but she knew she could research the individual ingredients they typically used in the classroom and learn how they interacted with one another. While she couldn't work on her combat spells, due to a lack of space, suitable targets and safety concerns, she had plenty of non-combat spells in her arsenal she could practice.

Despite the fact she had taken to having her father's invisibility cloak on her at all times, at least while at Hogwarts, she'd still taught herself the _Disillusionment_ charm just in case she needed a second layer of protection. The summoning and banishment charms were like second nature and she was so good at them she could do them silently and wandlessly. She found them incredibly useful for causing distractions or 'throwing' objects at her enemies. She knew a number of utility spells as well and could grow/shrink/lock/unlock objects, seal/unseal doors/windows, levitate objects/people, make things lighter/heavier, shield/silence an area/person, heal minor injuries, and various other effects.

Her offensive repertoire wasn't too shabby for a second year either. Unlike most in her year, who were more likely limited to disabling spells such as _Expelliarmous_ (disarming charm), _Petrificus Totalus_ (body-bind spell), _Rictusempra_ (tickling charm) and other seemingly minor effects, she had access to fireballs, lightning bolts and other lesser element-based direct damage spells. That's not to say disabling spells weren't incredibly useful given the right circumstances and for setting up devastating combination attacks or to simply take care of an issue without causing massive injury and damage.

What she really wanted to study was elemental magic and be capable of shaping it to her will as opposed to the limitations imposed by specific spells, incantations and wand movements. She also wanted to eventually be able to cast every spell she knew wandlessly and silently, figuring it would give her a huge advantage when dealing with her enemies. Being able to do so would also enable her to deal with things without making it obvious she was the one doing it, including performing subtle magic within the non-magical world once she was declared a legal adult and the Trace broke. As far as she was concerned, incantations and wands were nothing more than a liability that stifled a witch or wizard's creativity and flexibility.

* * *

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* * *

**(Sunday, July 18****th****, 1993, Afternoon)**

A little over two weeks later, Harry was sitting on her bed reviewing one of the many books Dobby had managed to find for her in Knockturn Alley. It certainly wasn't the 'lightest' bit of reading she'd ever done, both in ease of understanding and modern wizarding morality. While she had no interest in actively pursuing Dark Magic, research had shown by and large any and all rituals were classified as Dark by the British Ministry regardless of their actual effects or importance for the Traditionalist Sect. While the Traditional Party was comprised mainly of the darker families with a smattering of neutrals and lights, Harry didn't see anything inherently evil or Dark about wanting to protect wizarding traditions from being criminalized and replaced by muggle ideas.

Three examples she could think of off hand were the celebrations of Easter, Halloween and Christmas. Easter and Christmas were Christian holidays that meant nothing to the vast majority of the older and more traditional wizarding families. They would prefer to celebrate Beltane and Yule like they had for centuries. Halloween was a mockery of the wizarding holiday Samhain where people paid respects to their lost loved ones, not carving pumpkins, stuffing themselves with candy and hanging gaudy decorations. In addition to those three, several other celebrations and rituals were deemed Dark. She couldn't understand what was so Dark about celebrating the Summer and Winter Solstices or the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes.

All of that aside, the ritual she was researching and planning to implement during the New Moon the following night was considered incredibly Dark. She didn't understand why, at least as long as she had a willing participants' approval. Knowing Hedwig was too easily recognized as belonging to Harry Potter, she had wanted to find something that would change her familiar into another type of bird but was still distinctive enough to belong to a Black.

She had spent some of the last couple of weeks researching the three families she was set to inherit titles from: the Potters, Peverells and Blacks. Learning that her father/godfather Sirius was still alive, despite his current incarceration, and determined to let Harry Potter more or less permanently disappear, she had decided she would declare Sirius her father, James her godfather, and legally change her family name to Black. She didn't feel she was betraying her family or her parents because according to her heritage test, Sirius was both her father and godfather, just as James had been. Lily was still, and would always be, her mother. She felt it would be nice to have a father who was still alive, even if she couldn't remember anything about him.

Harry looked up with a smile on her face when Hedwig flew into the room through an open window.

"Hey girl, have a nice flight?"

Hedwig barked in the affirmative and landed in front of her human before presenting her leg.

The last Potter grinned as she carefully extracted Hermione's latest letter and set it aside. She would read it later, but right now she really needed to talk to Hedwig about the ritual.

"Hedwig, thank you for being such a wonderful friend and flying to France in order to help Hermione and me stay in contact," Harry said softly as she stroked her familiar's soft feathers. At the snowy owl's bark, she continued in a more solemn tone, "There's something I need to talk to you about that I seriously doubt you're going to like."

Hedwig batted her head against her human's hand as if to encourage her to continue.

"As you know, due to my current circumstances and everything that's happened over the last two years, I've been looking for ways to leave the Harry Potter name behind," the redhead explained as she continued her ministrations. "There are still quite a few things I need to do, but they'll have to wait until my birthday. There is one thing, however, that I can do before then and it's what I need to talk to you about." Looking at her owl sadly, she continued, "The problem is, you are too recognizable as Harry Potter's familiar and no one would ever believe he gave you to me. The way I see it, we really only have two options and I'm going to need you to choose which one you want to do.

"The first option is we break our bond and you find yourself another human," the last Potter whispered as tears started forming in her eyes. Hedwig shook her head violently and nipped at her fingers to show her displeasure at that idea. "Believe me girl, I really don't want to do that either. You're one of my best friends and I'll always treasure our relationship, regardless of what happens to us in the future. The other option is to perform a ritual that will permanently change you into a completely different type of bird, one that would be associated with the House of Black and not Harry Potter."

Hedwig tilted her head in curiosity as if to ask, 'What would you change me into?'

"A raven," Harry answered her familiar's unasked question. "I did some research and one of the Black family's symbols is the raven. It would be perfect, but I will not subject you to this without your consent. You would also need a new name, but we'll deal with that later if you agree."

Hedwig took flight and circled around the room for several minutes as she considered her human's proposal. Would being a dark colored raven as opposed to a white snowy owl really make much difference to her? She wouldn't be an owl anymore but she'd still be able to fly. She would be able to hunt at night and she'd still be able to look after her chaos magnet of a human. In reality, nothing would really change for her except for minor things and the two of them would be able to retain their bond. Making up her mind, she flew down to her human and maneuvered herself into the girl's lap before nuzzling in agreement.

"Thank you Hedwig, this really means a lot to me," Harry said and hugged her familiar as tears of joy rolled down her cheeks. Assuming everything went according to plan during the New Moon, which was slated for the following evening, Hedwig the Snowy White Owl would become 'Question Mark' the Raven. Thinking about her research, she figured she'd likely choose the name Morrigan in reference to the Celtic Goddess of War, Fate and Death. The fact the goddess was the patroness of revenge, night, magic, prophecy, priestesses and witches only added to the appeal.

* * *

.

* * *

Later that evening, Minerva McGonagall was working in her office when a snowy white owl carrying a broom flew through her open window. Sighing heavily, she set her new student list aside so Hedwig could drop off her cargo. Recognizing the broom she had gifted Harry Potter at the end of his first year, the Transfiguration professor shook her head and asked, "Why is Mr. Potter giving me his broom?"

Hedwig barked and presented her leg.

Gently taking the rolled up parchment from one of her favorite student's familiar's leg, Minerva unrolled the letter and read:

.

_Dear Professor McGonagall,_

_I regret that I must do this, but I need to inform you that I am resigning from the Quidditch team and returning the broom you allowed me to borrow. I am certain you are wondering why, since I seemed to have enjoyed myself the last two years. The truth is, I enjoy being in the air and flying, not Quidditch. This is especially true given everything that has happened to me during games in my time with the team. Before I get into those reasons, I want to thank you for the opportunity and apologize if I am leaving you in a lurch. I have to do what is right for me, and Quidditch is not it, I'm sorry._

_Back in first year, indeed my very first game even, I was nearly thrown off my broom and to an early death when Quirrell/Voldemort jinxed it during the Gryffindor/Slytherin game. I almost ended my Quidditch career right then and there, even if it had led to my expulsion. Ultimately, I chose not to because I didn't feel I should resign when there were still matches to be had and the team was counting on me. Wood wouldn't have had enough time to train another Seeker._

_If that had been the only incident, I might have been able to get passed it. However, between Dobby's rogue bludger and the team's hostile attitude towards me during the whole Heir of Slytherin fiasco, something none of the staff did anything about I might add, any remaining enthusiasm or joy I may have once had for the game died. When I can't count on my own teammates to watch my back during a potentially life threatening **game**, I really don't see any reason I should continue to give them my blood, sweat and tears._

_I've never been particularly into sports and I still harbor no interest in them whatsoever._

_I thought I should inform you of my decision before the next school year began so you would have a chance to make preparations for next year's team. Also, if you would ask Wood to lighten up, I know the rest of the team would appreciate it. One last thing, I think it would be a good idea for each team to have reserve players just in case one of the primaries can't play._

_Case in point: the final Gryffindor game at the end of first year when I was in the hospital wing following the Philosopher's Stone incident._

_._

_Sincerely,_

_Harry Potter_

.

Minerva stared at the letter for several minutes, feeling ashamed of both her actions and inaction regarding Harry, as a tear slipped down her cheek. How could she have ignored the vile rumors surrounding one of her favorite lions for so long? It was little wonder the boy had disappeared for hours at a time to places unknown if he had felt ostracized by the entire school, with the exception of Hermione Granger. She remembered hardly seeing either of them at meals, especially once Harry's parseltongue abilities had come to light. He never said anything in class unless called upon and even then he barely responded. His practical work was exemplary, especially after the winter hols, but he never showed any enthusiasm in what he was learning or doing. It was like he was only going through the motions.

The elder redhead sighed as she considered what effects losing Harry would mean for her team. Even at the tender age of 11, the boy had been a phenomenal Seeker and would've only improved with practice and experience. Unfortunately, it looked as though she was going to have to inform Wood they would need to hold tryouts in the first couple weeks of the new term. If Harry truly didn't enjoy Quidditch, she certainly wasn't going to try to force him to participate against his will.

There was still the matter of Harry's Nimbus 2000 that was sitting on her desk. Grabbing a piece of parchment, an ink well and a quill, she started penning a return letter when she happened to look up and noticed Hedwig had already left.

"Damn, how am I supposed to return Mr. Potter's broom now?" Minerva grumbled under her breath as she binned the letter she had started writing. "Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait until the new term to return it."

* * *

.

* * *

**(Saturday, July 31****st****, 1993, Early Morning)**

Nearly two weeks later, Harry groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. She stared unseeing at the ceiling for several minutes as she mentally reviewed her plans for the day. Grabbing her wand from beneath her pillow, she cast the _Tempus_ charm and fell back upon her bed as she sighed in frustration. Seriously, when was she going to stop waking up before dawn? Shouldn't the Dursley's influence be long gone by now? She hadn't had to deal with them for nearly a year. Then again, maybe she just didn't need as much sleep as most other people.

"Happy birthday to me," the redhead muttered darkly as she climbed out of bed and started getting ready for the day. That was the only good thing about waking up early, there weren't likely to be others in the communal lavatory. Despite having had to put up with the irritating situation for the last four weeks, she was no closer to being comfortable with the idea than she had been the day she arrived.

Her raven familiar, Morgan, glanced at her and squawked as though to wish her a happy birthday which helped improve her mood. She had considered her familiar's new name very carefully and had decided to go with Morgan as homage to both the Celtic goddess and the patroness of the Blacks, Morgan le Fay. She knew people were going to think she was Dark simply because of her family name. Hedwig hadn't minded the name change and understood how important it was to her human.

Once she had taken care of her morning ablutions, showered and returned to her room, Harry walked over to her desk and sat down before picking up the silver picture frame housing a photograph of her and Hermione. She stared at the picture for several minutes before noticing a small parcel waiting for her.

She smiled brightly when she saw the parcel was from Hermione and opened the card.

.

_Dear Harry,_

_Happy thirteenth birthday! _

_How does it feel to finally be a teenager? To be honest, I didn't feel much different last September when I turned 13. It just didn't really seem all that important considering everything else going on, not that I didn't absolutely love the party and presents you gave me. Speaking of which, I hope you like your first present. It's just a little something I found that reminded me of you and I hope you like it. As for your other presents, you'll get them later tonight._

_You read that correctly. We're coming home tonight. _

_I made it clear to my parents I wanted to be with my best friend on her birthday. They finally caved and rescheduled our return flight for this morning. We should be back by early evening at the latest. We'll swing by the Leaky Cauldron on our way home and pick you up._

_I know you have a lot going on today with Gringotts and I hope everything goes well. I can't wait to see you again and hear about your adventures in Diagon Alley and __London__. I'm also curious about how far you've gotten with your summer homework and third year material. We're going to be number one and number two in our year this time Harry; I won't accept anything less for us. You've managed to stay out of trouble, right? Give Hedwig my love and I'll see you tonight._

_Love always,_

_Hermione_

.

Harry wiped a tear from her eye as she read and re-read the letter several times with a huge smile on her face. Hermione was coming back tonight? She couldn't help but wonder if her friend planned to greet her with a kiss despite the fact they hadn't had a chance to discuss the last one yet. While a small part of her hoped she would, the larger part knew Hermione would never do something so reckless in public. Besides, she would want to go to the library and research muggle attitudes on two girls dating one another. Provided they continued, they would need to do the same in the magical world as well.

She felt a pang in her heart when she thought about the Hedwig part. She hadn't sent Morgan to France in fear of how Hermione would react to the situation without them having had a chance to talk. Considering the girl would ask her how she'd changed her owl into a raven and how she had acquired the book necessary to perform such a ritual, she wasn't prepared to write about it in a letter. She desperately hoped she would be able to delay the conversation until after her birthday.

Harry slowly opened her present and gasped in shock when she saw what it was. She'd been expecting a friendship bracelet or something similar, but instead her bright emerald eyes befell a small figurine. The figurine depicted a pure, white unicorn rearing up on its hind legs and was about ten centimeters long and eight centimeters tall. In addition to the beautiful magical horse, a red haired girl wearing black witch's robes was mounted on the unicorn's back. Upon closer inspection, she could see the girl in question had green eyes as well.

"Oh my… Did she have someone make this? It's amazing!" the redhead exclaimed as tears started rolling down her cheeks. She couldn't believe how much love and effort her best friend had put into her present. She felt her heart ache and wished the older girl was standing beside her so she could show her appreciation. She had always loved unicorns and hoped she would see a live one during her Care of Magical Creatures class. The last one she'd seen, when Voldemort was possessing Quirrell during first year, had already been killed and it had broken her heart.

A soft popping sound caught her attention and she turned to face the source.

"Happy birthday Mistress," Dobby exclaimed happily as he bounced on the balls of his feet. Thinking something was wrong due to her tears, he walked over to where Harry was sitting and asked, "What be the matter? Today is grand day, the bestest witch in the whole world Harry Potter be thirteen and free to make her own choices."

"Thank you Dobby," the last Potter said quietly with a smile as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "These aren't tears of sorrow. Hermione sent me a really beautiful unicorn figurine and she's coming home tonight. I can't wait to see her again."

"That be wonderful Mistress be seeing her Missy Miney on her birthday," the elf said happily.

Once the two of them had sat down and started thinking about uniforms, it hadn't really taken them long to come up with a suitable choice. Dobby was decked out in a butler's uniform, albeit the smallest one ever made. He was wearing a white button down shirt with a black bowtie, a black formal jacket and a pair of black pants along with a black belt with a silver buckle.

Madam Malkin had been instrumental in creating it to their specifications. Now, because Harry was determined to let the Potter name go and would be taking the name Black after her father Sirius, she had decided to have the seamstress add the Black family crest to Dobby's outfit. Granted, if Dobby worked for Dumbledore while she was at Hogwarts, he would need to wear the school's Elvin uniform and not reveal the fact he worked for her.

"Mistress be needing to get ready, yous have appointment with Gringotts at eight," Dobby said before snapping his fingers and a beautiful set of periwinkle dress robes appeared on the bed. When Harry raised an eyebrow at the fancy robes he continued, "Mistress be claiming Ladyships today, yous needing to be looking your best."

"I get why I can't go in a blouse and jeans but I don't want everyone staring at me either," the redhead said as she looked through her wardrobe for something less fancy but still nicer than her usual outfits. As much as she didn't like robes, she ultimately bowed to Dobby's superior knowledge and decided to wear the periwinkle dress robes he had provided for her.

After finishing a light breakfast, her anxiety much too high for anything heavy, Harry changed out of the casual clothing she'd been wearing since her shower and finished getting ready. Over the last several weeks she had learned so many new spells regarding hair care, makeup and general 'girly' things it still made her head spin. She knew Hermione never gave much thought to such things, unlike Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, but she wasn't willing to dismiss it without at least trying it first. She had no idea where she would ultimately land on the girlish to tomboyish spectrum but seeing how everything feminine was still new to her, she wanted to explore her own sense of self and interests.

Once she had finished with her hair and makeup, she looked in the mirror and smiled at the attractive, young woman staring back at her. It still amazed her how much she resembled her mother and idly wondered whether that was going to be an issue next year. She was certain some of the staff would recognize a miniature Lily Evans but she also didn't want to wear a glamour for the rest of her life. She loved what her body had transformed itself into and it would be a shame if she were forced to hide who she truly was.

* * *

.

* * *

A half hour later, Harry walked into Gringotts like she was there for routine purposes rather than the life altering business she was about to conduct. Not seeing Sharpclaw in the lobby, she walked over to a set of couches and sat in a lady-like fashion. In the weeks since she'd fully accepted herself as a girl, she had tried to learn everything she could about female comportment. Attempting to appear the bored heiress, for the benefit of the snobbish purebloods waiting in line, she casually inspected her nails as she started humming quietly to herself.

A few minutes later, Sharpclaw walked up to her and asked softly, "Miss Potter?"

"Yes," Harry replied quietly as she slowly rose to her feet.

"If you would please follow me," the goblin said as four guards stepped away from the wall and approached.

Despite knowing the goblins were taking precautions in case she wasn't who she claimed to be, it was still unnerving for her to be surrounded by so much sharpened steel. The next several minutes were tense as she was led towards Sharpclaw's office where she was forced into an uncomfortable chair. With a wave of his hand, a small bowl, a ceremonial dagger and a piece of parchment appeared in front of her.

Harry didn't need to be told what to do. She grabbed the dagger and pricked her thumb before allowing three drops to fall upon the parchment. Once the third drop had fallen and her family heritage began showing, her thumb healed as though it had never been pricked.

Sharpclaw looked at the results and nodded in satisfaction before dismissing the guards. Once the four surly goblins had left the room, the chair she was sitting on transformed into something far more comfortable and the tension in the room seemed to bleed away.

"Miss Potter, I would like to start by wishing you a happy thirteenth birthday," the goblin said with what could pass as a smile.

"Thank you," Harry replied with a grin.

"We have much to do today," Sharpclaw said and waved his hand as several stacks of forms appeared on the desk along with what looked like a reddish-brown colored quill. Seeing his client's eyes widen at the large stacks of parchment, he chuckled and continued, "I did say we would have a lot of forms to go over today. In case you're wondering, this is a blood quill and it does exactly as its name implies. It literally writes using your own blood." At Harry's sudden gasp and rapidly blanching complexion he said, "Not to worry, you won't need to use it for much and I'll make sure it doesn't cause any permanent damage."

The redhead nodded slowly and eyed the blood quill as though it would suddenly start attacking her.

"Miss Potter, I know you're anxious to get your name and gender changed, however, I would strongly recommend doing so last," the older goblin said as a small silver box appeared on the desk. Opening the lid, he reached in and pulled out a sealed red and gold envelope. "This is your parents' Last Will and Testament. It had originally been sealed by the order of the Chief Warlock…"

"Dumbledore," Harry growled angrily as she clenched her fists in her lap.

"Correct," Sharpclaw confirmed with a scowl. "Fortunately, since you were last here, Gringotts was able to retrieve it and we'll be reading it today. In fact, in order to ensure everything you wish to accomplish goes as smoothly as possible, we'll need to take care of this before we do anything regarding your identity."

The redhead nodded her head in understanding.

The account manager broke the seal and jumped backward when the envelope unfolded itself and began speaking in her parents' voices like a modified howler.

.

_The Last Will and Testament of James Charlus Potter **and Lily Marigold Potter nèe Evans**_

_I, James Charlus Potter, being of clear and sound mind hereby declare this document as my last will and testament._

**_I, Lily Marigold Potter nèe Evans, being of clear and sound mind hereby declare this document as my last will and testament._**

_If you are reading this Will, it means both Lily and I are dead. Given the time frame when we created this Will, it was likely Voldemort who killed us and Peter Pettigrew who betrayed us. You see, at the time of this writing, we were hiding in Godric's Hollow under the Fidelius Charm (cast by Albus Dumbledore) and Peter was our Secret Keeper._

_Provided we are both dead and this Will has been activated, we wish to bequeath unto Remus John Lupin the sum of 50,000 galleons from the main Potter vault. That should help him get back on his feet. **Remus, you are required to spend some of that money on improving your wardrobe. You're a sweet and caring man, regardless of what others may think about your little problem, it's time you started thinking better of yourself and dressed in decent clothing. No more rags.**_

_To Sirius Orion Black III, while you don't really need it, we wish to bequeath unto you the sum of 50,000 galleons from the main Potter vault. **I know you enjoyed your bachelor days back at Hogwarts, but you should find yourself a steady girlfriend at the very least. Our little Harry would like to have a sibling, even in the blood-adopted sense if James and I can't have another child of our own. Perhaps becoming a father will encourage you to grow up some as well.**_

_To Peter Patrick Pettigrew, all you'll get from us is 30 sickles and damnation to Hell for your betrayal.** Have fun roasting for all eternity, you filthy rat.**_

**_Under no circumstances is Albus Wulfric Percival Brian Dumbledore to be allowed possession or control of any Potter assets, Wizengamot seats or the guardianship of our child._**

**_If fact, should any Potter heirlooms be in the possession of anyone other than our son, Harry James Potter, or safely stowed within our vaults, we hereby grant Gringotts the authority in which to recover our missing property by any means they deem necessary._**

_To our son, Harold 'Harry' James Potter, we leave everything else. I am deeply sorry we can't be there for you Prongslet. There was nothing I wanted more than to be your father and watch you grow up into the fine man I know you'll become. We missed out on so much because we got caught in the middle of two grown men's pissing contest._

**_Even though we are gone, know deep within your heart we loved you with every fiber of our being and we will watch over you in the here after. The day I found out I was pregnant with you was one of the happiest days of my life. Your father and I left you a pair of journals in the main Potter vault. They are protected and will only open and readable for someone of Potter blood._**

_We love you…_

**_…and we are so proud of you._**

_Should the worst come to pass and this Will has been activated, we have a list of guardians we would like for our son._

_First and foremost, Harry should be placed with his Godfather, Sirius Orion Black III. He is my brother in all but blood as well as Harry's blood-sworn Godfather._

**_If for some reason Sirius is unavailable, our next choice of guardian is Frank and Alice Longbottom, Harry's Godmother and her husband._**

_If none of the above people are available, we wish for Harry to be raised by Amelia Bones who has been a long-time family friend._

**_Under no circumstances is Harry to be placed with Petunia Dursley nèe Evans and her husband. My sister hates magic and wants nothing to do with the magical world or its peoples. We wish to respect their feelings on the matter._**

.

_Lord James Charlus Potter_

_Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter_

**_Lady Lily Marigold Potter nèe Evans_**

**_Deputy Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter_**

.

Harry stared at the Will in stunned silence as tears rolled down her cheeks. She had just heard her parents' voices for the first time in over a decade and longed to hear them again. Maybe their journals would talk to her too, that would be nice. Could there be portraits of them within the Potter family vault that would allow her to have some fragment of her parents?

The redhead didn't understand why Pettigrew would get anything, even if it was only 30 pieces of silver, if he had really betrayed her parents. She especially liked the part where Dumbledore specifically was banned from her assets, though she still suspected he had overstepped his authority. The fact the man had had her father's cloak and had sent her to live with the Dursleys was proof enough of that.

The next several minutes passed in silence as she steadied herself for her upcoming tasks. The sooner she and Sharpclaw sorted through the parchmentwork, the sooner she would be her authentic self and could explore the Potter vaults to see what her parents had left for her.

"Assuming I understand the situation correctly, I need to be Harold James Potter to claim my inheritances," Harry mused aloud as she leaned back in her chair and mentally reviewed her plans. "Once I have done so, including any Head of House rings and the like, I'll need to transfer ownership of everything in my current name to my new one. After that has gone through, I can then change my name and claim everything gifted to me by my 'original self'."

"That is correct Miss Potter," Sharpclaw replied.

"Are we going to be able to finish everything today or will I need to come back sometime in the near future?" the redhead asked, knowing the Grangers were returning that evening and wanted everything settled beforehand.

"We should be able to complete everything today," the manager answered as he pushed a stack of forms towards his client. "For this document, you will need to use the blood quill along with your wand. Declaring a Lord/Ladyship is a very serious procedure and Magic requires both your magical signature and blood."

The last Potter simply nodded and spent several minutes reading her Lordship forms before finally using the blood quill to sign her current legal name. The redhead felt a sting when she started writing but pushed the pain aside and wrote out her name in her normal feminine script. She studied her handwriting for a moment and frowned, hoping her signature wouldn't cause an issue. Once she was finished with the blood quill, she pulled her wand and pushed her magic into the parchment, thus sealing her claim to the Potter and Peverell Lordships as well as her Heir Apparent status with House Black. The parchment glowed briefly, indicating Magic's acceptance of her identity before fading moments later.

"Very good Miss Potter," Sharpclaw said as he picked up the forms and briefly leafed through them. Nodding in satisfaction, he placed them in a special drawer that would send them off to be filed. It would require a short amount of time for the central system to update their changes, but they could proceed with the Headship rings in the interim.

"Now that your Lordship papers have been filed, the next step is to claim your Lordship and Heir rings," the goblin said as three small boxes materialized on his desk. "Once we have finished, you will have full access to everything within the Potter and Peverell accounts. You'll then be allowed to affect any changes you wish to make, including gifting your entire estate to someone else should you choose to do so."

Harry grinned.

"Before we continue, I need to tell you that Ladyship and Heiress rings are different from Lordship and Heir ones," Sharpclaw said as he set the boxes in front of his client. "I don't know whether the Potter and Peverell Lordship rings will automatically reconfigure themselves to Ladyship rings once your gender change goes through or not. The same holds true for the Black Heir ring."

"Ugh, I don't want to wear men's rings," the redhead complained as she scrunched up her face in disgust.

"If they don't, our smiths should be able to reforge them into witch's rings anyway," the goblin said thoughtfully. "You would have to leave them with us so we could take care of it though."

The last Potter nodded as she opened the first box and withdrew a gorgeous gold ring with a large ruby surrounded by twelve smaller diamonds. She couldn't help but stare at the beautiful ring and was about to slip it on her left ring finger when she noticed an inscription on the inside. It read 'Sempur Amare', which was Latin for 'Forever Love'.

"Miss Potter, that is a witch's Head of House ring," Sharpclaw said as his eyes widened in shock.

"Mum… I thought you said I would have to wait until my legal gender change…"

"I guess I was wrong," the manager said as he scratched his chin in contemplation. The only possibility he could think of that might explain the change was if his client's transformation had altered her magical signature enough to be regarded by Magic as female but still close enough to be read as Harold James Potter. Whatever the case, it was strange and he'd never heard of anything like it happening before. It seemed only appropriate 'Harry Potter' would once again defy traditional wizarding logic.

Harry smiled as she placed the Potter Head of House ring on her left ring finger. The ring pricked her finger and automatically resized itself so it would fit snuggly on her narrow ring finger. "Ow! It poked me!"

The goblin chuckled for a few moments before saying, "Of course it did milady. Just because you've signed the Lordship claim form and the Head of House ring box appeared, doesn't mean the ring itself wouldn't do its own identification. Now, Head of House rings are usually enchanted and confer a number of benefits on its wearer. For starters, the ring will automatically adjust for the size of your ring finger. In addition to the auto-sizing enchantment, no one will be able to remove the ring except for you. It will never rust, scratch and is indestructible. You can also will it to become invisible and merge with your other rings once you've place them on your finger. This ring will also confer upon you a limited form of mental protection though I would highly recommend you begin learning Occlumency as soon as you can."

"Occlumency? What's that?" the last Potter asked in confusion.

"Occlumency is a mental discipline that confers many beneficial effects upon the learner," Sharpclaw replied as he idly tapped his claws on the table. "It'll help you organize your mind and you'll be able to recall information faster and more accurately. It will also help shield you against a Legilimens's attack. Before you ask, a Legilimens is someone who can use Legilimency to read your thoughts, feelings and possibly influence you."

"How barbaric," Harry growled angrily as she shook her head in disbelief. "My thoughts are my own, how dare someone try to read my mind."

"All the more reason to get started learning Occlumency as soon as you can," the goblin said matter-of-factly.

The Peverell Head of House and Black Heiress rings accepted Harry as their owners with the same level of fuss the Potter ring had, just a small pinprick. They too had similar enchantments on them and automatically resized themselves to fit her smaller finger. Once all three of the rings were on her left ring finger and had fused together to become one, the redhead discovered she could have any number of them visible if she wanted. She suspected she'd keep all of them hidden for the vast majority of the time unless she needed a particular ring for a specific reason.

Once the rings had been dealt with, Sharpclaw walked over to the filing cabinet and pulled out two ledgers detailing the properties and wealth of the Potters and Peverells. Because she was only Heiress Apparent of House Black, she wasn't privy to that information until the Head granted her access or passed the title onto her.

The redhead looked at the ledgers and sighed as she tried to mentally prepare herself for stuff she wouldn't likely understand.

"Let's start with the Potter portfolio," the goblin recommended as he opened the binder with the Potter Coat of Arms on the front. The glyph had what appeared to be a knight's helmet in the center with a small golden dragon above. Beneath the helmet was a black and white shield with three snowflake-type designs above and below a field of miniature swords. Gold and red 'hair' flared from behind the helmet and wrapped around both sides of the shield and fluttered about in a very airy fashion.

The last Potter was surprised and a little saddened to discover her family had no properties remaining in the magical world and none in the mundane world. The little cottage in Godric's Hallow that had been her first home had been destroyed by Voldemort and turned into a monument by the Ministry. She supposed she could claim theft and demand restitution but doubted she'd want anything to do with it considering it was where she had lost her parents. Sharpclaw informed her The Pottery used to belong to them before Voldemort seized power but for some reason they'd lost that as well. That had been why her parents had moved to Godric's Hallow in the first place. She hoped her parents had been able to preserve the Potter family heirlooms even if they hadn't been able to save the manor.

She wasn't particularly bothered by her lack of Potter properties though. It meant she wouldn't feel tied to places she had barely lived in or those with bad memories. She wouldn't feel as though she were betraying her family by letting them go. According to her account balance, she wasn't exactly hurting for money so when the time came, she could make a home for herself and whoever her partner was at the time.

Harry barely knew anything about economics and even less about investments, but apparently her grandfather had made a fortune investing in both the magical and mundane worlds. James hadn't been the savvy business man Charlus was and had never done much with the family finances, trusting his father had known what he was doing.

The war with Voldemort and his Death Eaters had definitely left their mark on the Potter family. What had once been a thriving family, if on the small side due to a string of single births, had been reduced to a single member. Worse, the one remaining member was going to sign over her name to the newest member of the Black family, thereby seemingly erasing the Potter line even though she wasn't ending it genetically. Once all of the parchmentwork was filled out and filed, she would become Potter-Black, but the world at large would only know her as Black.

The Peverell family had even less to go through than the Potters. Like the Potters, they possessed no property in either the magical or mundane world. They had no investments according to the goblins and only had a single vault to their once proud name and house. For all intents and purposes, it appeared the Noble and Most Ancient House of Peverell was truly dead. Perhaps she could make use of her Lady Peverell title some day when she was older.

After she and Sharpclaw had gone through everything and she knew what assets she had at her disposal, Harry started working on two documents. The first of which would transfer the Potter and Peverell accounts to a newly created Black vault that only she would have access to. The second was Lord Harold James Potter's Last Will and Testament for when she decided Harry should 'die' instead of simply disappearing. Once her assets had been transferred, all four Potter vaults (Family, James', Lily's and Trust) along with the Peverell vault would be permanently closed.

Once the Transfer of Assets and Last Will and Testament documents had been magically accepted and filed, her account manager grinned and said, "And now, we finally come to what you've been waiting for all along, your legal name and gender change."

"Thank Morgana for that," Harry said wearily. She was feeling light headed from recently having used the blood quill to sign her Transfer of Assets and Last Will and Testament documents.

Sharpclaw nodded as he grabbed the last stack of parchment and handed them to his client. "Lady Potter, I need to inform you these forms will only affect your status with Gringotts and the Goblin Nation. They have no bearing on the British Ministry or the non-magical world."

"You mean I'm going to have to go through them if I want the wizarding world to see me as a girl?" the redhead asked incredulously as her eyes widened in shock. At the goblin's nod, she huffed noisily and continued in an irritated tone, "One of my reasons for changing my name so drastically was so that 'Harry Potter' and the 'Boy-Who-Lived' could disappear and I'd be able to start over without all the stares and whispering. If I have to tell them what I'm changing my name to, it won't really change anything and they'll just continue to harass me. In fact it'll be even worse because then everyone would know their so-called 'savior' was mentally unstable because 'he'd' rather be a girl. I don't even want to imagine what the _Daily Prophet_ would do with that."

"You don't honestly believe that do you?" Sharpclaw asked as he raised an eyebrow at his client's tirade.

"No, I don't. I believe I'm finally being true to myself for the first time in my life, but that's not going to stop everyone else from thinking I've completely lost my mind and give me a bunch of grief over it," Harry replied before burying her face in her hands, her emotions welling up inside her as tears started rolling down her cheeks.

Her second year at Hogwarts had been an absolute nightmare and the only reason she'd been able to get through it at all was because of her best friend. Even when the girl had been petrified while trying to help her, easily the worst month she had ever faced in her entire life, Hermione had given her the strength and determination she'd needed to storm the Chamber of Secrets and end the insanity once and for all. If the girl had been killed, rather than simply petrified, she had no doubts she would've gone completely insane and begun murdering everyone around her starting with the junior Death Eaters. Her life wouldn't have meant anything to her without Hermione.

Sharpclaw leaned back in his chair as he considered the redhead's words, wondering if he'd be able to call in a favor and make things easier. If asked by his superiors, he could always claim he was helping Gringotts and himself by paving the way for the Houses of Peverell, Potter and possibly Black to utilize their otherwise dormant accounts. Naturally, both he and the bank would benefit from any investments that bore fruit. Like any goblin facility, they had agents stationed within other prominent places of business such as Hogwarts and the Ministry.

Having made up his mind, Sharpclaw leaned forward and said in a solemn tone, "Lady Potter, you will not have to worry about the Ministry. Gringotts will take care of it. All you'll need to do is read these forms, make the appropriate check marks, initial notations and sign your new legal name at the end. As with all of the other documents you've filled out today, you will need to use the blood quill so I would advise you to take your time. I can see how drained you are and would normally recommend resting for the remainder of the day and finishing up tomorrow."

Putting his hand up to stop his client from interrupting, the goblin continued, "I also know that is the last thing you want to do right now. I know you wish to distance yourself from 'Harry Potter', however, because this is your legal name and you intend to claim the Potter and Peverell Ladyships, you will need to include Potter somewhere in your full legal name. This isn't to say you can't simply be known as Black elsewhere if you choose."

"Thank you," Harry said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I was planning on using the name Heather Dorea Potter-Black in honor of my mother's family's flower naming tradition, the Black family's tradition of naming their children after stars or constellations and both the Potter and Black family names."

"That would be acceptable," Sharpclaw said with a nod.

The redhead nodded as she grabbed the stack of parchment and started reading through it. It was all very straightforward with multiple warnings and stipulations. There were a few places she needed to initial about her reasons for requesting a legal name and gender change. She was essentially swearing on her life and magic she wasn't trying to defraud the bank, that she wasn't a convicted felon trying to dodge her criminal history and other similar statements. Finally at the end, there was a place for her to sign her name and indicate her gender.

With a huge smile on her face, Harry grabbed the blood quill, checked the box for 'female' and signed her new name on the line provided. Once she had finished, she placed the tip of her wand on the parchment and pushed her magic into the document. A brief glow later, indicating Magic's acceptance and it was done. She looked down at her name and couldn't stop the tears from spilling out of her eyes and running down her cheeks.

Clear as day and written in her flowery feminine script was the name Heather Dorea Potter-Black.

Harold 'Harry' James Potter was no more.

* * *

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* * *

Meanwhile, at number 4 Privet Drive, Petunia Dursley was sitting in her favorite recliner in the front sitting room and reading a trashy romance novel. She didn't really care about the story so much as the male protagonist. The man was the opposite of her husband: thin, dark-haired, muscular, soft spoken and kind. The woman wasn't anything like her either: super model sexy, red-haired, gentle and green-eyed. The best part about the two of them was they didn't have a bratty, abusive and overweight whale of a son.

"If only…" the blonde, horse-face woman sighed wistfully before setting her book face down in her lap. "If only I could be with the man of my dreams, instead of… Vernon…"

She was thankful her husband and son weren't home. Vernon was hanging out at a local pub with some of his work buddies celebrating the fact 'the freak' hadn't returned. Granted, the man had been angry having had to drive all the way to King's Cross to pick up the ungrateful brat but it hadn't taken him long to cheer up. Dudley was spending the Saturday afternoon out with his friends. Despite the fact none of them had ever wanted the Potter orphan around; the boy missed 'Harry Hunting'.

Petunia sighed and resumed her reading when a very loud gong-like sound echoed throughout the house. She screamed in terror as her book flew out of her hands and hit the floor before she ran towards the kitchen. She didn't know what was going on, but there were knives in the kitchen that she could potentially use to stop an intruder for a few seconds. Normal people didn't make sounds like that; it had to be the work of 'the freaks'.

* * *

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* * *

Several hours later, Albus Dumbledore was sitting at his desk in his office looking over some notes for an upcoming Wizengamot session when he heard multiple hissing, cracking and explosive sounds from somewhere behind him. He turned around and gasped, his eyes widening in shock when he noticed all of the monitoring devices he had linked to Harry Potter were destroyed. Panic gripped his heart as he slowly rose from his throne-like chair and started pacing about his office.

What could possibly have happened to cause his devices to fail? He refused to believe Harry was dead, the boy was simply too important to the future of wizarding Britain and he should've been safe at Privet Drive due to the blood wards. Despite the number of times he'd been told over the last two years, he refused to believe Madam Pomfrey's assertion that Harry had been abused and mistreated by his relatives. Looking at his destroyed instruments, the older man grimaced and for once considered the fact he may have been wrong.

Glancing at the stacks of parchment on his desk, Albus shook his head and said, "There will be time enough for that later. Right now, I need to make sure Harry is alright."

Fawkes sang his approval for his master's concern and plans.

Despite the fact that he believed the wizarding world needed Harry to fulfill the prophecy and destroy Voldemort once and for all, Albus still cared about the boy on a human level. The young teenager wasn't simply a chess piece he needed to set up the final battle and be sacrificed needlessly though he also knew Harry might think otherwise considering the events of the last two years. Even though he knew it was possible the last Potter would not survive his plans, he sincerely hoped the boy would beat the odds and make it through the war alive. He still regretted not stepping in and squashing the rumors and horrid treatment his student had been subjected to during the whole Heir of Slytherin fiasco.

* * *

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* * *

In the Halls of Prophecy within the Department of Mysteries, deep within the bowels of the Ministry of Magic, a certain bright blue sphere sitting upon shelf ninety-seven flashed once before gradually going dark. Whatever message that may have been recorded within the sphere was gone, never to return.

* * *

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* * *

**_Author's Notes: _**

_I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter. I want to thank everyone who has read this story so far and I hope I can retain your interest. Please read and review. Comments and criticism are welcome, I just ask you to be nice about it. _

_Publish Date: February 26__th__, 2020_


	5. Reunions and Revelations

Disclaimer:

Sadly, I do not own the amusement park that is Hogwarts, or the colorful characters J.K. Rowling has created for us. I've considered writing a transgender story for awhile now and have decided to try my hand at it. Like any story using this as a premise, Harry will be OoC but that can't really be helped considering her outlook and the things that happen to her. I hope you enjoy it.

#foreign language#, *parseltongue*, "spoken", '_thoughts_'

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**The Marauders' Daughter**

Chapter Four

_Reunions and Revelations_

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**(Saturday, July 31****st****, 1993, Mid Morning)**

_With a huge smile on her face, Harry grabbed the blood quill, checked the box for 'female' and signed her new name on the line provided. Once she had finished, she placed the tip of her wand on the parchment and pushed her magic into the document. A brief glow later, indicating Magic's acceptance and it was done. She looked down at her name and couldn't stop the tears from spilling out of her eyes and running down her cheeks._

_Clear as day and written in her flowery feminine script was the name Heather Dorea Potter-Black._

_Harold 'Harry' James Potter was no more._

Heather stared at her new name in silence for several minutes as she reflected upon her life and how everything would change. There was no more Harry Potter; she had killed him in a desperate plea to live her own life, not that she had any intentions of letting the wizarding world know just yet. Let those who sought to control her waste their time and resources looking for her while she went about her life hiding in plain sight. There was no more Boy-Who-Lived. The last Potter was now just as fictional as the Harry Potter Adventure Series had always been. That wouldn't stop her from suing the publishing company over the use of her old name and likeness now that she was actually aware of it though.

No one at Hogwarts would know who she was other than her best friend, Hermione Granger. Granted, that had been a large part of the reason she had taken the Black name but it would mean she would have to meet everyone all over again. That also meant she would be able to decide who she wanted to associate with and hopefully not be stuck with any annoying sycophants like she'd had to suffer the first time through. She had long suspected Ron had only approached her because of the whole Boy-Who-Lived nonsense and the prat was simply trying to enjoy a small measure of notoriety being by her side. As much as the boy complained about his insecurities, he wouldn't be anyone if not for his association with her.

The redhead shook her head at her first friend's attitude and couldn't help but wonder why anyone would actually _want_ to be famous. She rarely had any privacy. It never seemed to matter where she was going or what she was doing, there was always someone watching, whispering and gossiping about her. She hadn't even had to wait until Hogwarts for it to start. When Hagrid had brought her to the Leaky Cauldron before her first year she'd been swarmed by people trying to shake her hand and thank her for defeating Voldemort. It had been enough to put her off fame permanently.

"Milady?" Sharpclaw asked as he regarded his client with a thoughtful look on his face.

Heather smiled at her account manager and said, "I'll be fine Sharpclaw, thank you. It's just a lot to take in and I was thinking about some of the ramifications my changes will cause at Hogwarts next year."

"I hope you are not reconsidering. I would rather not have to go through all of that parchmentwork again," the goblin deadpanned.

"Not at all, it's nice finally being my true self," Heather replied with a soft laugh as she dried her tears. "It might actually be amusing to play along when people start asking about Harry Potter and why he hadn't returned to school. I might even be able to tell them off in a third-party kind of way. It should make for a good catharsis anyway."

"That does sound amusing, I hope you get the chance," Sharpclaw said with a smirk.

"Oh I will, you can count on it," the redhead said with her own shark-like grin.

The goblin manager nodded and said, "Now that we have dealt with everything pertaining to your identity and inheritances, is there anything else Gringotts can do for you today before we head down to your vaults? Keep in mind we won't have your new vault ready for at least a week. In order to safe guard your assets; I'll freeze your accounts at the end of the day which will give you a chance to inspect your holdings for anything you may wish to remove for the foreseeable future. I would also like to meet with you towards the end of August before you return to school and make sure everything is how you want it, if that would be acceptable."

"That'll be more than acceptable," Heather answered. "I should be returning sometime either on the 29th or 30th, that way I can make sure I have everything I'll need before boarding the Express on the first. I'll make sure to swing by before then and check in with you. I may have some ideas about what I wish to invest in by then as well now that I can make executive decisions regarding my Houses' finances.

"On another note, you asked whether I had any other business I wished to conduct before heading down to my vaults," the last Potter said as she replayed the morning within her mind to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. Rubbing her forehead while lost in thought, she accidentally touched her scar and snapped her fingers as she asked, "Oh, can Gringotts do anything about cursed scars?"

"I had completely forgotten about that," Sharpclaw replied with a grimace. "I'll contact the healers and see what they can do. It would've been a grievous oversight on both our parts for us to have gone through all this trouble ensuring Harry Potter disappeared only for you to be instantly recognized because of that horrid scar."

The redhead nodded her head in agreement and smiled as she said, "Thank you for everything Sharpclaw."

* * *

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* * *

Several hours later, Sharpclaw was driving a cart and taking his client to her vaults. Ordinarily, someone of his position would never lower himself to such a task, but she was a special case. Between the need for secrecy that Heather Dorea Potter-Black used to be known as Harold 'Harry' James Potter, there was also the fact he would be needed for an account manager override because his client didn't have her new key.

Since concluding their business within his office hours ago, Heather had gone through a comprehensive Health and Wellness Check performed by the goblin healers. What they had found had been everything from mildly upsetting to downright horrifying.

On the lesser side of the scale, the goblins had found the decaying remnants of two child-locks on her magical core. One had originally been placed by her parents and had decayed naturally as she had grown older. The other carried Albus Dumbledore's magical signature and it was curious how the girl had managed to destroy it herself. When asked about it, the redhead had shrugged and merely said she had really pushed herself studying and practicing advanced magic the previous year. They had then chastised her and warned she could have seriously ruptured her core trying to do too much at such a young age.

The mail-redirection ward placed by Albus Dumbledore was an invasion of privacy, though to be fair to the aged headmaster, probably one that had ultimately done more good than harm given how famous Harry's name was. No child would've been able to handle the deluge of hate-mail and curses at such a young age. The mail ward should've been dispelled once she had returned to the magical world but for some reason only the Headmaster knew, it hadn't been. The goblins were especially miffed Grigotts had been blocked and that she had never received any of her account statements.

The blood tracker was especially worrisome and the goblins suspected Dumbledore had once again overstepped his authority by appointing himself as Heather's magical guardian and therefore felt entitled to keep track of the girl. Keep track, but never actually help in the child's time of need. The last thing they found was by far the most horrifying. The goblins had never expected to find a horcrux embedded within their client's forehead. Now that the vile soul shard had been removed and destroyed, knocking her unconscious for several hours after screaming herself hoarse, the scar was barely visible and would eventually disappear given time.

Before the healers had dealt with her cursed scar, Heather had asked if they could remove the basilisk scar on her left arm. To say the goblins were shocked was an understatement and they immediately began questioning her about the incident. She told them how she'd faced a thirty meter snake in the Chamber of Secrets, how Fawkes had blinded the beast so its gaze wouldn't kill her outright and finally how she'd managed to kill it with the Sword of Gryffindor but not before taking a fang in her arm. She then related how Fawkes had healed her with his tears as she lay dying from the basilisk's venom.

One of the goblins had then told her the carcass was hers by right of conquest and wanted to work out a deal for salvaging the body. She readily agreed, knowing she lacked the skills and knowledge necessary to do anything with it and wanted to see some good come from Slytherin's monster. Heather had asked if they would be willing to create two sets of armor from the hide, one for her and one for her best friend, with the promise that upon their death the armor would be returned to the Goblin Nation. They had been surprised their client knew their customs regarding Goblin-forged equipment and readily agreed. The cost of making and enchanting the armor would be deducted from the sale of the basilisk parts.

Ten minutes later, Heather and Sharpclaw arrived at the Potter's main vault. She had enjoyed her rollercoaster ride through the goblin tunnels despite the fact it made her feel a little queasy. Once they had climbed out of the cart, the goblin activated the account manager override and unlocked the vault.

Heather walked into the room and froze. Unlike the last time when she had visited her trust vault, there weren't piles of money lying haphazardly all over the floor, though there was a door leading to another room in the back of the vault which she suspected held the main Potter's wealth. Instead, there were rows of bookshelves filled with books along one side of the vault. In the back of the room she could see a cache of weapons, armor and other implements of war. Along the other side of the vault opposite the book shelves lay paintings, furniture and knickknacks typically found within a house or manor.

"I bet Hermione would start drooling if she were to see this place," the redhead said with a giggle as she wandered towards the library.

* * *

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* * *

Meanwhile, Albus was standing in front of a full-length mirror within his bedroom as he altered his clothes in an attempt to blend in with muggles. He knew he would draw too much attention to himself if he wore his typically outlandish robes. Unlike the last time he had visited number 4 Privet Drive, when he'd left the boy on the Dursley's doorstep, he wouldn't be skulking about during the dead of night. He had to find out what had happened to Harry and the trail started with the boy's relatives.

Wearing a dark grey three-piece suit and an oxford button-down white shirt, the Headmaster looked every bit the distinguished gentleman. If he had to wear muggle clothing to blend in, he was going to do it in style. He transfigured his ordinarily long beard so that it was neat and only reached the bottom of his chin as opposed to his hips.

Satisfied with his appearance, Albus returned to his office and grabbed a handful of floo powder before saying, "Leaky Cauldron."

In a flash of green fire, the self-appointed Leader of the Light stepped through the floo and disappeared.

* * *

Once he had arrived at his destination, Albus walked outside the dingy pub and found an abandoned alley before apparating to Little Whinging, Surrey. A relatively short walk later and he was standing on the Dursley's doorstep.

Closing his eyes and breathing deeply, the aged wizard mentally prepared himself for the upcoming confrontation. Sighing softly and opening his eyes, the headmaster rang the doorbell.

Thirty seconds later, after he had rung the bell a second time, the door was practically thrown off its hinges and an unpleasant looking large man with blonde hair and a mustache filled the entire doorway.

"What the hell do _you_ want?" Vernon bellowed into the trespasser's face. Despite the older man's attempt at blending in, he knew the person in front of him was one of the freaks. Worse, he knew it was the head-freak himself, Albus Dumbledore.

"Good afternoon Mr. Dursley, may I speak with Harry please?" the Headmaster asked in a faux-pleasant tone he usually reserved for dealing with Lucious Malfoy, Cornelius Fudge and other unsavory types he encountered at the Ministry.

"The freak isn't here, now go away and don't bother us ever again," the large overweight man growled as he tried to close the door only for it to stop mid slam.

"Really now Dursley, must you be so rude?" Albus asked in a condescending manner as he shook his head in affected dismay. "I merely wanted to make sure that Harry is okay. This is, after all, for your own protection as well as his."

"I already told you, the freak isn't here. Are you daft or just hard of hearing?" Vernon shouted as he tried in vain to close the door again.

"I think I need to check for myself thank you, excuse me," the Headmaster said as he idly waved his hand and the younger man found himself being pushed away from the door.

"I never gave you permission to enter! This is trespassing, I'll call the police and have you arrested!" the walrus impersonation blustered angrily.

"Hush now Dursley," Albus said softly as he idly waved his hand, simultaneously casting a silent and wandless _Sleep_ spell on Vernon. The overly large man in question dropped to the ground like his strings had been cut and landed on the floor with a heavy thud.

"Vernon!" Petunia screamed as she came rushing down the stairs. When she noticed who was standing in her house, her face turned bright red as she leveled an accusing finger at the source of her ire and shouted, "YOU!"

"Hello again Petunia, I do hope the two of us can at least be civil with one another," the older man said in a soft condescending tone many in the Wizengamot hated him for as his blue eyes twinkled.

"The freak isn't here, never showed up at that dratted platform," the horse-faced woman said in an equally condescending tone as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Poor Vernon had to drive all the way to London and that ungrateful brat didn't even have the decency to show up."

"Harry never returned?" Albus asked in shock, his thoughts racing as dozens of different scenarios passed through his mind in a matter of seconds. What could have happened? Why hadn't the boy returned home with his uncle? Could Harry Potter, the Chosen One and the only person seemingly capable of defeating Voldemort once and for all, actually be dead? Was the world to be shrouded in darkness under the oppressive thumb of Tom Riddle once again?

"Your age must be catching up with you old man, I just said the freak never showed up," Petunia replied scornfully. "While you're here though, perhaps you would care to explain why I heard a very loud gong-like sound a couple of hours ago that shook this house as though a bomb had gone off."

"The blood wards…" the Headmaster whispered in horror as he reached out with his magic in order to ascertain the remaining strength of the blood wards he had erected to protect Harry from Voldemort and his followers. He felt the blood drain out of his face when he realized they had fallen. Nothing remained of the once powerful wards built on Lily Potter's sacrifice and it would be next to impossible to recreate them. There would be no reason for Harry to ever return to Privet Drive. The main questions remained though. Where had Harry gone and what had happened to him the day he had left Hogwarts?

* * *

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* * *

While Dumbledore was busy dealing with her relatives, Heather was enjoying herself as she explored her family's library. Within minutes she had found numerous tomes that looked interesting. Reluctantly, she returned them to the bookshelf as she wouldn't have time to properly read through them until some time in the future and she didn't want to carry them around with her all afternoon. Interestingly enough, she noticed most of the books seemed to be Grey in nature, not Light as she had expected based on everything she'd ever read or been told about the Potter family. There was a small section dedicated to the Dark, which she thought was interesting as that too seemed to fly in the face of everything she had ever heard about her family.

Knowing Sharpclaw had to be getting impatient, the redhead abandoned the library and wandered towards the section filled with weapons, armor and various other implements of war. Heather knew she would need to get a new wand. Not only had her Holly and Phoenix wand been resisting her for the last several months, causing issues with her spell casting, she found it highly unlikely a Black would use the same wand as Harry Potter. It still worked well enough for most spells, if excess power or imprecision were not an issue, as well as sealing contracts but it wasn't a perfect fit anymore.

The last Potter shook her head as she started looking through the pile of weapons and smiled when she found two beautifully crafted daggers that seemed to be calling out to her. She gingerly picked one of them up and felt a wave of magic unlike anything she had ever encountered before pass through her body. The grip looked to be carved from either ivory or bone and fit her hand almost perfectly. A blood red ruby inscribed with several runes, along with the Potter and Black family crests, made up the pommel. The guard appeared to be constructed out of the same material as the grip and the blade was composed of a fine silvery metal. She doubted it was actually silver though, and thought it might be Goblin steel given the exquisite nature of the weapon.

Heather stared at the dagger in contemplation for several moments as she traced her families' crests and wondered whether she could blood-bind the weapons to herself like she planned to do with her future wand. Figuring she had nothing to lose and knowing she could heal a small cut with the _Episkey_ spell, the redhead pricked her left ring finger and allowed a drop of blood to fall upon the ruby within the pommel. Once the drop of blood had been absorbed by the ruby, a soft white-reddish glow emanated from the blade in her hands and she could understand the runes inscribed on the pommel.

Once she had finished inspecting the dagger, she absently summoned its scabbard and muttered one of the runic command words. She smiled when the dagger/scabbard ensemble attached itself to her left hip. After repeating the blood-binding process with the second dagger, she muttered another runic command word and the daggers disappeared even though she could still feel them on her hips.

"Thank you Grandmother, I'm sure these will come in handy," the redhead whispered. Other than herself, she knew of only one person in her combined family's history that could represent both the Potters and Blacks, her grandmother Dorea Potter nèe Black.

* * *

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* * *

While Heather was arming herself and looking through her family's cache of weaponry, Dumbledore was busy dealing with the Dursleys. After Petunia had informed him the wards had fallen and he had verified it himself, he turned and left the house lost in thought. He didn't think Harry would want to live on the streets so he had to have gone somewhere. The Leaky Cauldron perhaps? Tom was known to rent rooms for weeks at a time provided the boarder had the coin to pay for it. He knew the boy was certainly wealthy enough to be able to do so. The problem with that scenario was it seemed highly unlikely no one had recognized the Boy-Who-Lived for the last six weeks and kept silent about it. He would have heard by now had that been the case.

'_Still, Tom may have seen him lately and I don't have any other leads,_' Albus mused before apparating to an alleyway next to the Leaky Cauldron.

Once he was inside the dingy pub, he cancelled his transfigured beard and muggle attire as he approached the bar. Ignoring the whispers floating around him, he asked the hunchback bartender, "Tom, have you by any chance seen Harry Potter during the last six weeks?"

"Harry Potter? I'm sorry Professor Dumbledore, but I haven't seen him," Tom replied.

"He probably would've been disguised in order to avoid drawing attention to himself," Albus said, his eyes twinkling as he did a passive Legilimency scan on the man in front of him. Not finding anything useful concerning his current line of inquiry, though the little red-haired girl he saw in Tom's mind did look vaguely familiar, the headmaster abandoned his probe and pondered his next move.

The bartender shrugged and said, "Well, if he was disguised I might have seen him, I don't know. I didn't see anyone that looked like Harry Potter though sir."

"Thank you Tom," the Headmaster said distractedly as he walked towards the floo. '_Another dead end,_' Albus thought unhappily. '_I know Harry was on the train. I know he got off the train and walked through the barrier. According to the Dursleys, Harry never showed up at the platform but he must have, they just didn't see him. The boy then left the station to a destination unknown. Did he go by himself or with others? If he left by himself, he could've been captured but it seems unlikely he would've remained unharmed for six weeks if that were the case. Where did you go and what happened to you Harry? I told you that you needed to return to your relatives for your own safety…_'

* * *

.

* * *

Once she had finished examining her family's collection of weapons, including wands, Heather wandered towards the section dedicated to storing a manor's worth of furniture, artwork and other knickknacks. She wasn't sure whether to have The Pottery rebuilt or not. It had been her grandparents' and father's house, she herself had never lived there as James and Lily had moved to Godric's Hollow by the time she'd been born. The last Potter sighed and shook her head, figuring she would wait until she had finished school before worrying about it.

She inspected the furniture and found everything to be in excellent condition despite the prevalence of reds and golds. The redhead wrinkled her nose at the gaudy Gryffindor colors and sighed, knowing she would likely have to replace everything by the time she was looking to furnish her post-Hogwarts home. It wasn't that she hated the Gryffindor color scheme so much as feeling overwhelmed by it. She preferred softer and blended colors as opposed to stark contrasts and harsh tones.

Heather started to head back to where her account manager was waiting when she came across several trunks. She smiled at the thought of maybe being able to use a family trunk instead of the cheap, mass-produced one she had bought before first year. Her eyes fell upon a beautiful trunk that was about the size of a medium muggle suitcase. It was constructed from a reddish-brown smooth grained wood and had brass hinges. Flowery vine-like engravings decorated the perimeter of the trunk while a single lily dominated the lid and she knew instinctively she was looking at her mother's trunk.

Along with its decorative exterior, the trunk appeared to be top-of-the-line and contained five primary compartments along with several secondary sub-compartments for easy sorting. The first compartment was specifically designed for clothing and could contain everything from intimates to the semi-formal dress robes she was currently wearing. The second and third compartments combined seemed large enough to hold a small library. She decided she would place the questionable resource material she had gotten from Knockturn Alley along with the Potter Family Magic books in one compartment while the rest occupied the other. The fourth compartment could hold her potion supplies and incidentals. Finally, the fifth compartment could be set aside for everything else such a broom and her daggers.

The last Potter smiled sadly and closed her eyes as she placed her left hand on the flower. "Mum…"

* * *

.

* * *

Meanwhile, Albus stepped out of the floo and into the atrium of the Ministry of Magic. Before he spent anymore time hunting for clues to Harry Potter's whereabouts, or whether the boy was even still alive, he wanted to check the prophecy. After signing in with one of the guards, he took a lift down to level nine where the Department of Mysteries was located. Making his way to the Halls of Prophecy, the old man wandered down the aisles until he arrived at shelf 97.

Finding the orb that housed the damnable prophecy between Harry Potter and the Dark Lord, the headmaster sighed wearily as he visually inspected it for several moments. Despite being the one Sybill Trelawney had originally spoken to, he couldn't physically touch the orb without invoking the curse because he was neither of the two mentioned within the prophecy.

'_The prophecy has been fulfilled, or has become defunct for some other reason,_' Albus mused, uncertain what that would mean for the future of the wizarding world. There was simply no possibility Harry had managed to destroy Voldemort once and for all, not with his level of training and the man's unknown number of horcruxes still hidden away. Even though he didn't believe Riddle had managed to acquire a body, it was still far more likely he had killed Harry than the reverse. There had to be another explanation.

* * *

.

* * *

An undeterminable time later, Heather finally managed to wrestle her wild emotions under some semblance of control. Her cheeks stained with tears and her eyes red and puffy from crying, the redhead stood and composed herself as best she could using a full length mirror she'd found amongst the furniture. She frowned at her visage and cursed her lack of emotional control. Ever since her body had begun changing her into a girl she'd had a much harder time controlling her emotions. She knew other girls didn't cry all the time and hoped she would be able to control her tears like she could as a boy.

She looked a frightful mess and that was not the image she wanted to convey as Lady Potter and a Daughter of House Black. Especially going to Knockturn Alley, she would need her wits about her and look the confident young woman she was, not the scared little girl she looked like. The denizens of the alley would rip her to shreds if she showed up looking like she did presently. She was a Black, she was suppose to be badass like her Aunt Bellatrix or culturally refined like her Aunts Narcissa and Andromeda. Anyone who knew anything about Black women knew not to mess with them if they valued their health and she wanted to live up to that reputation.

Discovering the fact Draco was her cousin had been a shock, but something she thought she could have fun with once she returned to Hogwarts. In fact, she couldn't wait to go back to school and revel in the chaos Harry Potter's disappearance and her own introduction were going to cause. If the twins thought they held the monopoly on causing mischief, they were sadly mistaken. Between herself and Dobby, Hogwarts was in for a surprise the likes of which it had never seen. Of course, being a Black, she would strike from the shadows and no one would be able to prove she was anything but the perfect student. She was Lily and Sirius' daughter after all.

Grabbing her mother's trunk, Heather smiled as she headed towards the library section of her family's vault. She quickly gathered up the books she had originally found interesting only to discover a small recess she had somehow failed to notice during her initial exploration. Resting upon a wooden podium was a large, thick book she knew instinctively to be the Potter Grimoire. On a shelf beneath the Grimoire were two smaller, thinner books she thought might be her parents' journals.

The redhead slowly approached the podium only to pause when she felt a tingling sensation spread throughout her body. The magic of the Grimoire was reaching out to her, testing her to determine whether she was a Potter and worthy of the book's secrets. After several tension filled minutes, the tingling sensation faded and she breathed a sigh of relief. She had no idea what would've happened had the book's enchantments found her wanting, probably strike her dead, but she was glad to not find out. Banishing the unpleasant thoughts from her mind, she grabbed the Grimoire as well as her parents' journals and placed them in her 'new' trunk before heading towards the exit.

She was surprised to find her goblin escort waiting patiently considering the amount of time she had spent within her family's vault.

"I'm ready to go Sharpclaw, thank you for your patience," Heather said softly, uncertain how she was still standing considering the long day she'd already had and how emotionally drained she felt. All she wanted to do was return to the Leaky Cauldron, draw a bath and relax for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, the inn didn't have bathtubs in its communal style lavatory and she still needed to get a new wand. She hoped the Grangers weren't planning anything too extravagant for her birthday. She was so tired she felt as though she could sleep for a month.

"It has been my pleasure milady," Sharpclaw said with a small bow. He noted the tear stains on his client's cheeks as well as her puffy eyes and knew the day had taken its toll on the red-haired firecracker. How could it not? The poor girl had heard her parents' voices for the first time she could remember and had had to fill out several forms claiming her birthrights, Head of House rings, and changing her name and gender on top of all that. Adding to the stress the girl was already feeling she had seen all that remained of her parents: heirlooms and precious few memories. He knew she would gladly give everything she owned to have her parents back in her life. Just like with goblins, family was everything to the Potters and Blacks.

* * *

.

* * *

By the time she had walked out of Gringotts and into the early afternoon sun, Heather was starting to feel better. She was still incredibly tired but at least she didn't feel dead on her feet. She knew she was in no condition to brave Knockturn Alley and decided she would worry about getting a new wand when she and Hermione returned to Diagon Alley at the end of August.

Several minutes later, she walked into the Leaky Cauldron and asked Tom to send some food up to her room in a little while. She had been so focused on dealing with her accounts and identity that she had completely forgotten about lunch. Not that she had really been in a position to eat while she was busy exploring her family's vault deep within the bowels of the goblin owned bank. Her stomach rumbled as she absently rubbed her forehead, happy the piece of Tom Riddle's soul embedded within her body was gone.

"Are you alright Miss?" Tom asked in concern as he scrutinized his favorite tenet.

"I'll be fine Tom, thank you," Heather answered quietly. "I'm just really tired and have a headache. I'm going to return to my room and lay down for a bit, see if that helps at all. Oh, by the way, if a bushy haired brunette around my age named Hermione Granger comes calling, will you please send her up? I'm expecting her and her parents to arrive sometime this afternoon to pick me up."

"Of course Miss," the barkeeper replied. "I should have lunch ready for you in about ten minutes."

"That'll be fine, thank you Tom," the redhead said with a smile before heading up to her room.

* * *

.

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere in the North Sea locked within the most dreadful prison ever created by wizarding kind, a sickly and scrawny looking man was laying on the floor while he stared at nothing with lifeless grey eyes. Sirius Black had been condemned to Hell on Earth for nearly twelve years for crimes he had not committed. Thanks to the Dementors, demon-like wraiths that consumed an unfortunate soul's happiest memories while leaving them to experience their worst moments, most of the long-time inhabitants of Azkaban had long since screamed themselves silent.

"Black, present for you," barked a short, pudgy man wearing a dark colored suit, tie, and jacket as he threw an issue of the _Daily Prophet_ into the man's cell.

When the prisoner ignored him and made no effort to see what he'd been gifted, Cornelius Fudge, magical Great Britain's Minister for Magic, growled angrily as he stomped away and snarled, "Fine, don't read it, doesn't matter to me."

Once a few minutes had passed, Sirius crawled towards the newspaper in order to see what the fuss was about. On the front page, he noticed a family of smiling redheads being awarded a prize of some sort and had no idea why Fudge had given him the paper. Moments later, he forgot all about the why when he spotted a familiar looking rat perched on one of the redheads' shoulder. Growling low in his throat, he looked closer and noticed the rat was missing a toe.

'_Peter_,' Sirius thought darkly as he stared at the traitor with loathing.

That's when he knew what he needed to do. He needed to escape the damnable prison that had been his home for the last twelve years, make his way to Hogwarts, and do what he should've done originally, protect his godchild.

* * *

.

* * *

Several hours later, Hermione and the elder Grangers walked into the Leaky Cauldron. Several patrons looked up only to immediately dismiss them on account of their muggle clothing. The Grangers wrinkled their noses in disgust at the sight of so many unkempt looking people and the dingy atmosphere of the medieval looking pub.

Ignoring everything but her goal, Hermione approached the bar and asked, "Excuse me Sir? I'm looking for a friend of mine. She checked in about a month ago, has red hair, green eyes and is slightly shorter than me. Have you seen her lately?"

"Hermione Granger correct?" Tom asked as he paused in his cleaning of a glass. When the teenager nodded, he continued, "She told me you would be coming by and has asked me to send you up when you arrived. She might still be asleep though; the poor girl looked pretty worn out when she returned a few hours ago. Her room number is 207."

"Thank you Tom," the brunette said as she waved her parents over. The three Grangers then headed upstairs and it wasn't long until they were standing in front of room 207.

Hermione knocked on the door.

"Yes?" a familiar feminine voice called from inside. "Please identify yourself."

"Hermione Granger."

"Emma Granger."

"Dan Granger."

The Grangers heard what sounded like half a dozen locks unlocking. The door then opened on its own accord and allowed them entry. Once the trio had walked into the room, the door closed before locking and sealing itself. The Grangers looked around the tiny room but didn't see Harry anywhere.

"Harry?" Hermione asked tentatively as she fidgeted in place.

"I'll be with you in a moment, I'm just about ready," Heather replied from beneath Dobby's invisibility spell as she applied the finishing touches of her makeup. She stepped back from the full-length mirror and smiled as she admired her reflection for several seconds before finally turning towards the Grangers.

Signaling Dobby to drop the invisibility around her, she curtseyed to her guests and said, "Hello Miss Hermione Granger, Drs. Emma and Dan Granger. Please, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lady Heather Dorea Potter-Black, Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter, Heiress Apparent to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black."

The Grangers were stunned. Standing in front of them wasn't the casually dressed little girl they had dropped off nearly a month before. Instead, what stood before them was a young woman wearing a very becoming and form fitting sleeveless, formal black dress and a pair of three-centimeter black heels. The built-in corset and plunging neckline left little to the imagination and accentuated her developing figure rather spectacularly. In addition to her outfit, her ears had been pierced and she was wearing a pair of dangly ruby earrings along with a pair of diamond studs. She was also wearing a diamond and ruby necklace with a small emerald-eyed raven pendant that came to rest just above a hint of cleavage. Her makeup was minimal and served to accent her aristocratic features and her nails were painted a soft pastel color. Atop her shiny and fiery red hair sat a diamond studded tiara, thus completing the princess look.

"Happy Birthday Heather," Emma said warmly as she wrapped her pseudo-daughter in a motherly hug before giving her a kiss on the forehead. "You look beautiful honey."

"Happy Birthday Ha-Heather," Dan said as he laid a gentle hand on the redhead's shoulder.

"Happy Birthday Heather," Hermione said once her mother had let the smaller girl go. She wrapped her arms around her best friend in an especially tight hug and said, "Mum's right, you look incredible."

"Thank you," the last Potter whispered, her cheeks turning pink as a blush spread across her face. She walked over to her desk and picked up the unicorn and witch figurine Hermione had given her for her birthday. She smiled softly and said, "I love unicorns, but adding a miniature me riding her was truly inspired Hermione, thank you so much."

"You're welcome. I'm really glad you like it," Hermione said with a huge smile on her face. "I found the it in a magical arts and crafts shop and immediately thought of you. I know you love unicorns. Getting the proprietress to add a witch wasn't difficult; in fact she seemed quite pleased with the idea."

Heather smiled softly and nodded, wishing she could show her best friend just how much the present really meant to her.

"Are you ready to go honey?" Emma asked as she looked around the room to make sure everything was packed.

"Almost," the redhead replied absently as she turned to stare at her reflection in the mirror, specifically the raven shaped pendant hanging around her neck. As far as the Grangers knew, she didn't have a House Elf and Hedwig was a snowy white owl. Knowing she wouldn't be able to use magic once she returned to Crawley, perhaps it would be better to explain her changes while they were still at the Leaky Cauldron. She had a full battery of security spells in place and wasn't concerned about others eavesdropping on their conversation.

After standing there for several minutes in silence, she turned to face her adoptive family and said in a solemn tone, "Hermione, Emma, Dan, there are things I need to tell you before we leave. They may very well change how you feel about me, but I'm not about to hide what I have done or who I've become from the only people in the world that matter to me."

The Grangers nodded slowly.

"First of all, I would like you to meet Morgan, my raven familiar," the redhead said with a smile. "As you know, I've been working on erasing the evidence that I was once Harry Potter. Hedwig was too distinctive as a snowy white owl."

"Wait a minute; you turned Hedwig into a raven?" Hermione asked incredulously as she stared at her best friend like she'd never seen her before.

"Yes," Heather replied as she gently stroked the raven pendant hanging from her neck. The pendant glowed briefly before separating from the necklace and transformed into a live raven. Morgan squawked as she flew in a lazy circle before landing on her mistress's shoulder.

"You have to understand, it was either change her into something no one would recognize or permanently break our bond," the last Potter explained softly as she sat on the bed. "I offered her the choice and she chose to become a raven in order to stay with me. We performed the ritual during the New Moon a couple of weeks ago. Before you start on rituals being Dark magic and the like, for what we both wanted out of it, there was nothing Dark about it even though it did require a small blood sacrifice."

"And the fact she was a pendant not that long ago?" the brunette prompted.

"An interesting side-effect we discovered during the ritual," Heather answered happily as she gently kissed Morgan on the head. "This way she can stay with me when she's not out hunting, delivering letters or doing whatever it is ravens do."

Hermione sat beside her best friend before taking the smaller girl's unoccupied hand into her own and said, "I can understand why you would think we might see you differently, but I am going to dispel that notion right now. You are still my best friend Heather; you will always be my best friend regardless of what happens, I promise."

"Hermione's right," Emma said as she sat on Heather's other side and wrapped an arm around the smaller girl's waist, not wanting to disturb the raven sitting on the redhead's shoulder. "As far as Dan and I are concerned, you are still family and nothing you do will ever change that."

"Thank you," Heather whispered as her eyes started to shimmer with unshed tears.

* * *

.

* * *

The hour and a half drive to Crawley was filled with conversation as Emma and the girls regaled one another with tales from their time apart. Despite the awkwardness between them and knowing they needed to discuss the kiss they had shared nearly a month earlier, the girls held one another's hand like they usually did in an effort to comfort each other until they'd had a chance to talk privately.

Hermione started out by telling Heather about Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, which was located on the southern coast of France near where they had been staying. She had gone on to describe the school and that they should consider transferring for their fourth year. An idea both Emma and Dan heartily agreed with considering how dangerous Hogwarts had been the last two years. The redhead hadn't had much to say about the idea except that she would need to see the school for herself and work on her French before she could agree. Naturally, the prospect of teaching her best friend something new had excited the bookworm even more and she'd said she would be happy to teach her French.

Once her daughter had stopped talking about the school, Emma took over the discussion and spent the next several minutes describing the multitude of museums, libraries, locally owned shops and cultural landmarks they had visited, including the magical arts and crafts store they had found her unicorn and witch figurine.

When it came time for Heather to share her stories, she started out by talking about how she had fully explored Diagon Alley and stopped in many of the shops she'd never been in before including an upscale clothing store called Twilfitt and Tatting's. For muggle London, which earned her a disapproving glare from both Hermione and Emma, she explained how she used the Leaky Cauldron as a focal point. Every day, she would set out from the pub and walk more or less in the same direction, being very careful not to end up in bad neighborhoods and constantly on alert. When she was tired, she would summon the Knight Bus and have it take her back to the Cauldron. The next day, she would pick a different direction until she had explored the entire surrounding area.

In addition to her explorations, Heather told the Grangers about her studies and how she'd gone through her first and second year texts with the intention of mastering all of the material before moving on to their upcoming year. Mastery to her meant not only casting the spell silently and wandlessly, but being capable of altering the spell on the fly for other effects as well. Suffice it to say, she hadn't made nearly as much progress as she'd hoped for and relegated her plans to a long-term project. She also told them about her advanced studies and giggled when Hermione had practically demanded she tutor her. The redhead had readily agreed.

Finally, she had talked about Gringotts and how everything had gone with her inheritances, vaults and change of identity. The last Potter decided against scaring the Grangers and withheld the fact she'd had a horcrux stuck in her head from when Voldemort had tried to murder her as a toddler. When asked, she merely said the goblins had been able to heal her cursed scar using their special brand of magic. She had also decided to avoid shattering the Grangers' view of the Headmaster by informing them what she had discovered about the man regarding her parents' Will, usurpation of her guardianship, the mail misdirection-ward and blood trackers. She knew she was still hiding certain things, Dobby and her morality being chief among them, but in her mind it wasn't the right time to reveal everything that had changed about her over the last several months.

* * *

.

* * *

By the time the quartet arrived at the Granger home, both of the girls had fallen asleep in the back seat. Hermione was sitting with her head propped against the window while her hand rested on the redhead's back from when she'd been playing with the younger girl's long, silky hair. Heather had started feeling sleepy halfway through the trip home and had decided to lay her head in her best friend's lap.

Emma didn't think anything of it even though she knew the girls were uncommonly close, as close or even closer than she had been with her very best girlfriend while attending medical school. She didn't suspect them of being romantically involved with one another though, just two best friends who had been through a lot together over the last two years.

Dan, on the other hand, still believed there was something off about how close the two girls seemed to be to one another. He was uncomfortable with them showing what he believed to be date-like behavior: holding hands, laying their heads in one another's lap, playing with each other's hair, and other semi-intimate touches. He wasn't looking forward to the day his daughter announced she was gay and that Heather was her girlfriend. With the girls living at Hogwarts for most of the year, he knew he didn't have the power to stop them from doing whatever they wanted to do, including being romantically involved with one another. He could, however, make sure it didn't happen within his own house.

"Hermione? Heather?" Emma asked gently as she lightly poked her pseudo-daughter's leg.

"Hmm?" the girls chorused sleepily as they stirred and slowly opened their eyes.

"We're home," the older woman replied as Dan finished parking the car.

"Oh," Heather acknowledged softly and blushed when she realized where her head had been laying. The redhead slowly sat up and looked at her best friend only to find the older girl staring back at her with love and warmth in her eyes. She didn't know why she was so nervous for their upcoming talk; Hermione had been the one to kiss her, not the other way around. If anyone had a right to be upset it was her, but she wasn't. In fact, after thinking about it off and on over the last four weeks she was hoping they would become a couple some time during third year. She didn't think it would be a good idea to try before then, not so long as Dan continued to look at them with suspicion every time they were close or touchy-feely with one another.

Once everyone had climbed out of the car, some faster than others and Dan had popped the boot, Emma said, "I'm sorry honey, but would you mind if we celebrated your birthday tomorrow? Looking at everyone and given the hour, I think we're all too tired from the long day to really do it justice."

"That would be fine Emma," the redhead answered just before a huge yawn overtook her and the Grangers chuckled.

"Case in point," Emma said with a smile before continuing, "Girls, why don't the two of you get ready for bed while I make us a light dinner. Dan, will you take care of our suitcases?"

"Of course," the elder Granger replied as he pulled his family's suitcases out of the boot while leaving Heather's trunk. He remembered the girl's warning and didn't want to get hurt from simply trying to help.

"I knew I should've disabled the wards before we left," Heather muttered as she begrudgingly grabbed her suitcase-like trunk.

Hermione giggled softly at her friend's comment before grabbing her own suitcase.

Once the quartet had entered the house, Emma turned to their guest and said, "Heather, make sure you hang that dress so it doesn't get wrinkled and have to be dry-cleaned."

The girl in question looked down at her regally dressed body and sighed, "I have a confession to make. What you're seeing is actually a glamour I had cast at the Leaky Cauldron just before you arrived. I was finishing up my makeup when you knocked."

Heather giggled at the stunned looks on her 'family's' faces as she mentally cancelled her glamour. The formal black dress became a light blue floral print blouse and a pair of daisy-embroidered jeans while her heels reverted to the leather half-heel booties she was actually wearing. The earrings remained, but changed into a pair of cubic zirconium studs while the ruby danglies remained. Her diamond and ruby necklace changed into a simple gold chain but the emerald-eyed raven pendant remained and the diamond studded tiara morphed into a flowery headband. With the removal of the glamour, her breasts returned to their normal 'AA' cup size and some of her curves disappeared.

"As for why, I was introducing myself as a Head of House and wanted to look the part," the redhead explained as she hugged herself waiting for her 'family's' judgment. "Maybe someday I'll look like that, I don't know. I'm sorry I misled you."

"Oh honey, it's alright," Emma said as she folded her pseudo-daughter in her arms and gently rubbed the smaller girl's back. "I'll admit I was shocked by how much you appeared to have changed in such a short amount of time. Considering how little we understand the magic that turned you into a girl in the first place, I thought maybe it had accelerated your growth to be more in line with what you might look like had you always been a girl."

"I hope it does, I feel like a firstie," the redhead complained bitterly as she glared at her semi-flat chest. Even though it had been an illusion, she had liked how she looked wearing such an outfit in a more mature body. Remembering how her body had reacted to her subconscious desires and started turning her into a girl since her encounter with the Mirror of Erised, she wondered whether she could actively will her body to develop into that of a thirteen year old young woman instead of what she assumed was either a ten or eleven year old girl. The goblins had found the remnants of a metamorphic-lock which seemed to explain how she'd been able to change into a girl in the first place.

"Heather, does it really bother you that much?" Hermione asked softly as she pulled her best friend into a comforting hug and started rubbing the shorter girl's back. "Yes, you are smaller than you probably should be, but you need to give yourself a chance to grow into your new body. It wasn't that long ago when you were still physically male, at least partially. I suspect your body has been only changing laterally, from male to female, over the last year rather than maturing. Keep in mind that I am also ten months older than you and girls tend to mature faster than boys. You'll get there eventually, I promise."

"Hermione's right sweetheart," Emma said. "If we consider her theory and your body believes it's only twelve years old, then I would say your level of development is similar to hers at that age."

Heather sighed despondently and nodded in understanding. She wanted her illusionary body to be real so she could feel like a young woman rather than a little kid. Despite wanting to have a chance to enjoy her childhood as a girl, she didn't want to fall so far behind that her friends started to forget she was their age.

* * *

.

* * *

An hour later, after having eaten the small meal Emma had prepared and gotten ready for bed, Heather and Hermione were sitting on the redhead's bed mentally preparing themselves for their upcoming discussion. Despite the letters the girls had exchanged, it was the first time in nearly a month the two of them could speak privately and they were a little nervous.

Steeling her Gryffindor courage, Heather took her best friend's hands into her own and smiled as she said, "I think we need to discuss the kiss you gave me just before you left for France."

"You're right, we do," Hermione agreed as she gently squeezed her companion's hands. Looking at their entwined hands, the brunette continued softly, "I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. It's just that I _like_ you, as in I'd like for us to be more than friends, and have since sometime first year. In fact, I nearly kissed you while we were going after the stone just before you stepped through the fire. As for the kiss itself, I wanted to show you that my feelings for you haven't changed despite the fact you're a girl now."

The redhead grinned as she said, "I've had a crush on you for awhile now as well. Granted, I was surprised when you kissed me out of the blue like that, but I also enjoyed it and hoped it was a preview for things to come. I never thought you'd like me that way if I became a girl though, I figured you were straight."

"Once upon a time I probably was, at least that's what I would've said if anyone asked," Hermione confessed as her cheeks turned pink. "I've thought about this a lot over the last several weeks and I think it's more that I like _you_, whether you're a boy or a girl doesn't really matter as far as my heart is concerned. In fact, if I were to be completely honest, I think I actually prefer you this way. We have more in common now, since we're both girls, and once you're sorted into Gryffindor again we'll be able to live together as well."

"What if I'm not?" Heather asked in concern. "What if Sebastian decides I should be a Slytherin this time?"

"Sebastian? You mean the Sorting Hat?" the brunette asked in confusion. At her companion's nod she continued, "And it wanted to place you in Slytherin?" Another nod, "Why is this the first time I've heard about this?"

The redhead shrugged and said, "It never seemed important, plus you know how Ron is about Slytherins. Can you imagine how he would've reacted, let alone everyone else, if the so-called Boy-Who-Lived had become a snake? Not that it matters now I guess, most of the school thought I was a Dark Lord in the making during the whole Heir of Slytherin fiasco anyway."

"I suppose that's true," Hermione conceded as she shook her head at the boy's attitude. She still thought it was silly to write off an entire House on an account of a few bad apples. "Well, you managed to talk him out of sorting you in Slytherin and into Gryffindor back when we were firsties, I'm sure you can do it again."

The last Potter considered her best friend's words for several moments and said, "I suppose you're right."

"Of course I am," the brunette said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Heather rolled her eyes at the older girl's comment and climbed out of her bed before walking towards the window overlooking the Grangers' moonlit backyard. Staring up at the cloudless night and the near full moon, the redhead sighed and said tiredly, "You know Hermione; you don't necessarily have to verbally agree with someone every time they admit you're right. It makes you sound superior and condescending. It's one of the reasons Ron and Malfoy call you 'an insufferable know-it-all'."

"Sorry…"

The last Potter turned around and gave her best friend a soft smile as she said in a gentle tone, "Don't worry about it, it's just something you should keep in mind moving forward. Not everyone is going to appreciate your brilliance like I do and I don't want to see you hurt."

"I appreciate that," Hermione said as she joined her best friend by the window. Taking the smaller girl's hands into her own, the brunette took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she steeled her Gryffindor courage. Opening her eyes and looking deep into the younger girl's emerald green orbs, she asked softly, "Heather Dorea Potter-Black, will you be my girlfriend?"

* * *

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* * *

**_Author's Notes: _**

_I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter. I want to thank everyone who has read this story so far and I hope I can retain your interest. Please read and review. Comments and criticism are welcome, I just ask you to be nice about it. _

_Publish Date: April 1__st__, 2020_


	6. Leaving the Past Behind

Disclaimer:

Sadly, I do not own the amusement park that is Hogwarts, or the colorful characters J.K. Rowling has created for us. I've considered writing a transgender story for awhile now and have decided to try my hand at it. Like any story using this as a premise, Harry will be OoC but that can't really be helped considering her outlook and the things that happen to her. I hope you enjoy it.

#foreign language#, *parseltongue*, "spoken", '_thoughts_'

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**The Marauders' Daughter**

Chapter Five

_Leaving the Past Behind_

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**(Sunday, August 1****st****, 1993, Early Morning)**

Early the next morning, Heather awoke feeling more refreshed than she had in weeks. While her bed at the Leaky Cauldron had been fairly comfortable, certainly more than anything she'd ever slept in at Privet Drive, nothing compared with her bed at the Grangers' home. It was like sleeping on a cloud, plus knowing her surrogate family was nearby helped ease her mind as well. She glanced at the unicorn alarm clock sitting on her nightstand and sighed in frustration at the early hour.

For the next half hour, she lay in bed mentally replaying the conversation she and Hermione had had the night before. After their mutual confessions, the brunette had asked her to be her girlfriend. In the stunned silence that had followed, she'd once again been rendered speechless when the older girl had leaned into her personal space and given her a soft, but passionate kiss. Unlike the first time she had managed to respond after a couple of seconds, thus making the kiss mutual and more enjoyable for them both.

The redhead lightly touched her lips with her fingertips and smiled. She had a girlfriend! Granted, knowing Dan's suspicions and the fact neither of them wanted to test the elder Grangers' tolerance regarding same-sex relationships, the girls had decided to dial back their displays of affection for one another until they'd returned to Hogwarts. They would remain secret girlfriends, but they wouldn't be any more overt about it than they had already been. The girls knew if they were to suddenly stop showing one another affection Dan would become even more suspicious and that was a complication they didn't need.

After sharing a number of tender kisses, the teenagers decided to stop pressing their luck and returned to her bed so they could continue their conversation. The girls talked long into the night and in significantly greater detail about the myriad things they had done and seen while they had been separated. It was during this time she had confessed everything that had happened with Dobby and how the elf had become part of her family.

At her call, Dobby had apparated into her bedroom wearing one of his more casual outfits and explained how elves loved to work, that despite the master-servant bond, it actually defined them as a species and was as important to them as clothes were for humans. He went on to say that a free elf would eventually go insane and die if they couldn't find a family or magical institution to bond with. When asked whether he was happy being her elf, Dobby had practically fallen over himself in his exuberant praise of the 'Bestest and Most Wonderful Witch in the World'. He'd then told them he had never been happier and was really looking forward to the future.

She knew her girlfriend would never condone slavery, something she never would've either even if she hadn't been treated like a House elf herself during her stay with the Dursleys, but needs must and with Dobby bonded to her she could at least ensure he was treated well. Once Hermione had heard the elf's explanation, she had confessed her own misgivings about the whole situation but had ultimately decided to grant the little guy his wish. She'd then explained she had given Dobby a list of rules in order to ensure his well being before she'd been willing to complete the bond.

After that, Hermione had told her she needed some time to come to terms with everything that had been said and bid her goodnight. Before leaving the room though, the brunette had given her a soft, passionate kiss to demonstrate the fact her feelings for her hadn't changed and she was still interested in being her girlfriend.

Heather finally decided she needed to start her day and climbed out of bed in order to take care of her morning ablutions before changing into a suitable jogging outfit for her run. She tied her waist-length hair back with a white ribbon and was wearing a lightweight, short sleeve, white top, a light, pastel pink windbreaker, a pair of light blue jogging sweats and her black running shoes.

* * *

Slipping quietly downstairs, the redhead was about to deactivate the Grangers' security system when she heard someone behind her clearing their throat. She turned only to find Dan standing beside the staircase leading to the second floor and dressed in similar running attire.

"Good morning Heather," the man said neutrally as he casually folded his arms across his chest.

"Good morning Dan," the last Potter greeted anxiously. Despite having told the Grangers the evening before she planned to take up running in the mornings, something she had neglected during her previous two years at Hogwarts, she hadn't actually expected anyone to join her. She had originally planned to use the time to sort through her thoughts and feelings about various issues but it seemed as though the man had other ideas.

"I see you're planning to go on a run, mind if I join you?" the elder Granger asked nonchalantly.

Even though she would've preferred solitude, Heather knew she couldn't refuse without making things worse for herself. She was well aware of the fact he wanted to talk to her about something away from his daughter and wife. Deciding to get the unpleasant conversation over with as quickly as possible, she shook her head and the two of them headed out.

* * *

Dan and Heather stepped outside the Grangers' house and into the chilly, early morning air. They stretched in silence for several minutes before starting their neighborhood run with a slow jog. Once they felt their muscles were sufficiently loosened, the two joggers increased their speed. Due to the significant height difference between them, one a 6'1" (185cm) forty-four year old man and the other a 4'10" (147cm) thirteen year old girl, she needed to run a bit faster in order to keep pace.

After several more minutes of silence between them, Dan finally demanded, "What are your intentions towards my daughter?"

"Excuse me?" Heather asked in disbelief as she slowed her pace before turning to glare at her girlfriend's father. Even though she had suspected the nature of the conversation, it still surprised her to actually hear the question. She was a girl for crying out loud; shouldn't such a question be reserved for boys who would try to date his daughter? Granted, she was a girl dating his daughter but he didn't know that…

"You heard me," the older man replied sternly.

"I'm a girl sir, and Hermione is my best friend," the redhead answered evenly before resuming her moderate pace. "Why would you think I'd have any intentions towards your daughter?"

"I'm not blind Heather, I know how the world works," Dan said in a no-nonsense tone as he easily kept pace with her. "I've seen the way she looks at you and you her. I've seen how close you two are. You may be a girl now, both physically and legally, but you weren't always and I'll bet despite your feelings you fancied girls even then. I doubt that has changed in such a short amount of time, so I'll ask you again, what are your intentions towards my daughter, your sister, should Emma and I proceed with your adoption?"

"Adoptive sister, no blood relation," Heather corrected absently as she frantically tried to come up with a way out of the interrogation. Perhaps she and Hermione had been a little careless the night before but neither of them could help it, they had missed one another terribly over the last several weeks. Perhaps Dan was just being paranoid and overprotective and would've asked even if she hadn't fallen asleep in her girlfriend's lap. It wasn't as though he had seen them kiss…

"Don't get smart with me young lady," he growled angrily as he glared at the redhead.

The last Potter stopped and turned towards her running companion, crossing her arms over her chest as she demanded, "What do you want from me? Isn't it enough I'm still trying to figure out who I really am? Your daughter, my best friend, has been instrumental in helping me retain some semblance of sanity with everything I have had to deal with over the years. Yes, Hermione and I are close. We're probably closer than most non-married couples, but we've also been through a lot together these last two years and have been there for one another in ways no one else ever has."

"You still haven't answered my question," Dan snapped impatiently.

"No, I suppose I haven't," Heather said tiredly as she turned away from the older man. Sighing heavily, the redhead turned to face her prospective adoptive father and continued, "My intentions, as you call them, are simple. Hermione is my best friend. She will always be my best friend and nothing will ever change that. I intend to be the very best friend I can be to her, to be there for her in times of need and to protect her from _anyone_ who would seek to harm her just as she's always done for me."

Without waiting for a response, she took off towards the park at a sprint in order to get away from her interrogator and clear her head.

Dan watched as his daughter's best friend ran far faster than he knew he'd be able to match and sighed when the girl disappeared in a flash of white light. He knew he had hurt the poor girl with his suspicions but he couldn't shake the feeling something unnatural was developing between the two girls. He had been brought up a devout Catholic and while he had managed to get passed the parts about witches, he never thought he would need to reexamine his stance on homosexuality because it might actually affect someone he loved. If Hermione was truly gay, or even bisexual, he knew he would need to come to terms with it or risk losing his daughter forever.

* * *

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* * *

When he returned home ten minutes later, Dan froze in the entryway and gulped audibly when he noticed both his daughter and wife glaring at him with their arms crossed over their chests. He had hoped for a brief respite from his confrontation with his daughter's best friend but such was clearly not the case given the angry expressions on his family's faces.

"Daniel Francis Granger!" Emma yelled sternly. "What the hell did you say to that poor girl?"

"How could you hurt her like that Dad?" Hermione demanded as her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. "You know she's been having a rough time with things lately. You know damn well how important we are as a family to her."

"U-um…" Dan stuttered uncertainly, confused as to how his girls knew something had happened before he walked through the door.

"Hermione, honey, why don't you find your friend while I have a _little_ chat with your father," the petite woman asked gently despite the hint of steel in her tone as she continued to glare at her husband.

The elder Granger gulped nervously and nodded meekly, knowing from his wife's tone he had no choice. He was just glad his daughter wouldn't be laying into him as well. Hermione could be downright terrifying when she was angry or upset.

* * *

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* * *

A couple of hours later, Heather and Hermione returned to the Granger residence in a cheerful mood. Shortly after the redhead's confrontation with her father, the brunette had made a bee-line for the park in order to comfort her best friend. Once she had found Heather sitting on their bench, Hermione had simply pulled the smaller girl into her arms and rubbed her back as she tried to soothe her. Eventually the last Potter had calmed down enough to talk about what had happened with Dan and her interpretation of the event.

When the girls entered the house, Emma and Dan walked into the entryway and greeted them before suggesting they talk in the living room.

The elder Granger looked abashed as he nervously twisted his hands and said, "Heather, I wish to apologize to you for my behavior this morning. It was rude and uncalled for and I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you, but I am concerned about you and how everything is changing. I'm trying to keep up, but that in no way excuses my behavior and me being a prat. I know you and Hermione are close, have pretty much always been close and will always be close, but I think I may have been seeing something that wasn't there."

The girls traded looks and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Knowing how Dan had reacted to the mere possibility of the two of them being romantically involved with one another had convinced them of the necessity of hiding their true relationship until sometime in the future. While their friendship was hardly new, their status as girlfriends was and neither of them wanted to risk alienating the elder Grangers so early in the relationship. They wanted their budding relationship to have a chance to grow and develop on its own without any outside interference, regardless of whether that interference was positive or negative. Knowing both magical and muggle society as it was, it was highly unlikely they would find acceptance except perhaps from a few trusted friends.

Heather shook her head in order to clear it and smiled at her prospective adoptive father. "Apology accepted Dan, thank you. I know you're worried about us. The fact that Hermione and I _are_ so close means I'm sure there'll be others who will think we're a couple of sorts. It's something we're going to have to watch out for, as I'm sure like the muggle world, the magical one is not very accepting of two girls romantically involved with one another."

"No, I imagine it's not. From what I've seen, the magical world seems to be stuck in the Middle Ages when it comes to social progress," Emma said with a sad smile. "Personally, I'm of the opinion that whatever happens between two consenting people, whether they are both adults or otherwise, is no one's business but their own. Whether someone is gay, straight, bi or trans doesn't change the fact we are all human beings and have just as much right to exist as anyone else."

"I wish the purebloods could get that through their bigoted heads," Hermione grumbled unhappily. "Just because my parents are non-magical doesn't mean I'm less of a witch than they are."

"You'll never be less Hermione, you were top of the class despite your extended stay in the hospital wing at the end of the year," Heather said cheerfully as she patted her girlfriend on the shoulder.

"You were close though," the bushy haired brunette said as she flashed her girlfriend a warm smile. "I think had you started applying yourself before the winter hols like you did in January you would've been number one."

"Perhaps," the redhead conceded with a shrug. "Doesn't matter, we'll be numbers one and two this year for sure. Not even Padma Patil and Daphne Greengrass will stop us."

"That's right," Hermione agreed. "Speaking of school, you promised you would start tutoring me before we returned to Hogwarts. I'd also like to take a look at the third year books you have already gotten."

"Of course, they're in my trunk upstairs," Heather said with a grin as she offered her girlfriend her hand.

"Girls," Emma called before the two bibliophiles could escape upstairs, "don't forget we're going out tonight to celebrate Heather's birthday. Our dinner reservations are for 5:30pm, so please try to remember to start getting ready around 3:00pm and be sure to dress nicely."

"Yes Mum/Emma," the girls chorused before resuming their half-walk, half-run scramble up the stairs.

Emma shook her head fondly as she watched the girls and sighed, she was really going to miss them when they left for Hogwarts in a few weeks. The two of them together brought an excitement that had been lacking in the Granger household when Hermione was younger and she owed it all to Heather and the girl's tendency to electrify the room simply with her presence.

* * *

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**(Monday, August 2****nd****, 1993, Mid-Morning)**

It was just pass nine in the morning and Minerva McGonagall was sitting at her desk going through a stack of envelopes for upcoming third year students. She had been so proud when she'd learned Harry had decided to take after Lily when it came to his electives rather than James. She'd been even happier when the young Potter had started really applying himself during the second term of the previous year and was looking forward to seeing how her lion would fare in the future.

The professor frowned when she'd come to the end of the stack and hadn't seen an envelope for Harry.

"Sunny?" Minerva called.

A sharp crack of apparation later and a female house-elf wearing a pillow case with the Hogwart's crest on it asked, "Mistress Kitty calls Sunny?"

"Yes Sunny. I can't seem to find Harry Potter's letter; do you know what may have happened to it?"

"Sunny be addressing everyone she be seeing on third year list this morning," the elf replied nervously. "The great Harry Potter no being on the list."

"What?" Minerva demanded as she rose from her chair, startling the already nervous creature even more. "How can that be? He would've needed to speak with me, or at the very least written a letter, in order to withdraw from Hogwarts. Something's not right; could you bring me the Book of Students please?"

"Yes Mistress," Sunny replied as she popped away in order to fetch the book that listed every student, past and present, that had ever been admitted to Hogwarts.

While the elf was busy fetching the book, she sent a messenger patronus to her boss and asked him to come to her office.

A couple of minutes later, Albus Dumbledore strode through the doorway and asked, "What seems to be the problem Minerva?"

"Harry Potter's letter seems to be missing," Professor McGonagall replied just as Sunny reappeared with a large tome in her tiny hands. A small flash of light later and the book was resting on the Transfiguration professor's desk.

The older man frowned at the possible implications of a missing letter in conjunction with everything he had learned over the last few days. First his instruments had failed, suggesting something terrible had happened to the boy. Then he'd learned that not only had Harry never returned to Privet Drive, which in turn had caused the blood wards to fail, but no one seemed to know where he had gone or what had happened to him. It was like the boy had disappeared from the face of the Earth. The book would tell him whether Harry was still alive at least, even if it wouldn't tell him much else.

The professors carefully flipped through the tome until they had come to a section labeled '_1993-1994 Academic Year_' and studied the list of future third year students. Maybe Harry's letter had been lost for some reason but he was still alive and planning to attend. They scrutinized the pages for several minutes, but neither of them could find Harry Potter's name which suggested the boy was no longer a student and would not be returning that year. Neither of them could remember receiving anything that would indicate he hadn't planned on returning for his third year.

Albus sighed heavily and Minvera pinched the bridge of her nose as the older man flipped through the book and looked for the boy's name in previous years. If Harry's name was grayed out, it meant the boy was dead. If it was written in black ink, it would mean he was still alive. The Headmaster sighed in relief when he discovered Harry's name was still displayed in black ink.

"Thank Merlin Harry is still alive," the transfiguration professor said.

"Indeed, though it does little to help us find him," the older man said wearily.

"What can we do? Until he contacts us or someone reports his whereabouts, we're powerless," Minerva said as she started pacing about her office with her hands clasped behind her back.

"We'll just have to proceed normally and hope for the best," Albus said sadly as he idly leafed through the third year envelopes.

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**(Monday, August 9****th****, 1993, Afternoon)**

A week later, Minerva McGonagall was once again sitting in her office going through her pre-term duties as Deputy Headmistress when a raven she had never seen before flew through her open window. Morgan presented her leg and waited for the older woman to take the letter from her human.

The professor hesitantly untied the letter and read:

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_Dear Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry:_

_It has been brought to my attention that should I wish to attend Hogwarts this up-coming year or any other, I will need to speak with you about gaining admittance prior to the beginning of term._

_Please, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Heather Dorea Black, daughter of Sirius Black, and I am thirteen years old. Due to my father's unlawful and unjustified incarceration, he has been unable to raise me. Unfortunately, my mother was killed many years ago and I have since been living with a magical friend of mine. Through my own diligent self-study, I believe I have completed years one and two of the Hogwarts' curriculum and respectfully request consideration for admittance as a third year transfer student. I will take any entrance exams you deem necessary._

_As I have been informed of Hogwarts' curriculum, I am aware that as a third year, should I be accepted, I will be required to pick at least two elective courses. After hearing the available options, I have decided upon Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and Care of Magical Creatures as I believe they will be the most beneficial in my upcoming years._

_Should I not be accepted, I am prepared to do another year of self-study as I have already acquired all of the third year texts necessary. I would prefer to be around other children my age, as I will need to learn to interact with them in the future, unless I return to the muggle world. What better way than a boarding school for ten months out of the year?_

_Sincerely,_

_Heather Dorea Black_

_Heiress Apparent to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black_

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Minerva was stunned as she read and re-read the letter several times. Sirius was innocent and had a daughter? Based on the fact Miss Black seemed to have been living in the muggle world it seemed logical the ex-Marauder had impregnated either a muggle or muggle-born witch, possibly a half-blood. She doubted the man was even aware he had a daughter and couldn't help but wonder how the girl had remained unknown for so long. Who was her friend? It was obviously someone who had a connection with Hogwarts, but that could be anyone out of hundreds or even thousands of people.

The transfiguration professor turned towards the raven perched upon her desk and said, "I need to write a response to Miss Black. Will you wait long enough for me to do so?"

Morgan simply nodded before settling in to wait.

Minerva grabbed a piece of parchment along with an inkwell and quill so she could pen a response. As she considered what she wanted to write, she looked at her prospective student's familiar and noticed the bird's eyes had an emerald-greenish tint to them. While odd, the professor didn't think it was out of the realm of possibilities when it came to familiar bonds.

Dismissing the oddness for what it was, the older woman wrote a return letter saying she would like for the two of them to meet at the Leaky Cauldron early in the morning on the 28th of August. She explained they would floo to Hogwarts where the girl could take her entrance exams. She further wrote that testing would likely take all day with lunch and dinner being provided along with a tour of the castle. The second day of testing would be on the 30th of August, allowing her prospective student a day to further explore the castle and review her second year material prior to her final round of exams.

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**(Friday, August 27th, 1993, Early Morning)**

Two and a half weeks later, Heather slowly awoke feeling groggy and uncomfortable. Ever since Emma had given her _The Talk_ she'd known this day would come. That didn't mean she was prepared for it, especially since it was likely her first period would be her worst without assistance from the magical world in the form of potions.

'_Ugh, why do girls have to put up with this?_' the redhead mentally groused in disgust as she slowly climbed out of bed and gingerly made her way to the upstairs bathroom. Stripping off her nightgown, she grimaced when she noticed the blood in her knickers and sighed. Shaking her head, the last Potter set about cleaning herself up and taking all of the necessary precautions Emma had insisted she learn.

Once she had finished cleaning herself up and taking a shower, she returned to her bedroom and set about dressing for the day. After putting on a fresh pair of knickers and a bra, now that she actually needed one, Heather started looking through her collection of muggle clothing. She sang a soft ballad she had heard on the radio and pulled out a pair of her daisy-embroidered jeans and a powder blue blouse. She continued to sing as she dressed and let her mind wander over the previous two and a half weeks.

Her birthday celebration had been a smashing success. Not only had the Grangers taken her to an upscale Italian restaurant in London where everyone was wearing fancy dresses and tuxedoes, but afterward she was treated to her first ever live musical at Royal Opera House. Suffice it to say, she'd never had such an extravagant birthday before and loved every minute of it.

It was because of her birthday that she had decided to take up singing. She knew the joy the performers had evoked within her and she longed to invoke the same kind of joy in the magical world. Like any new skill, her performances were lackluster in the beginning but unlike her relatives, the Grangers had been supportive and even bought her a few singing lessons for the rest of the summer. Unfortunately, given the fact she was going to be out of the country for the next ten months as she attended Hogwarts, she wouldn't be able to continue seeing her private instructor. That didn't mean she wouldn't practice what she had been taught, however.

In addition to learning proper singing techniques, Hermione had taken it upon herself to teach her how to swim in their backyard swimming pool. That had been an interesting experience and it had nothing to do with the fact she was learning to swim. No, what really captivated her was the fact she and her girlfriend were constantly within close proximity of each other and wearing semi-conservative skin tight bathing suits. The fact Hermione had to often touch her during their lessons awakened a primal need within her and she started having sexier dreams about her girlfriend. Despite the intimate nature of her lessons, the girls were able to resist giving into their bodies' temptations and remained best friends to everyone but each other. They were still secret girlfriends, the elder Grangers having never brought up the possibility of them being anything more after the first time, but they weren't ready to confess their relationship to the older couple.

During times when Hermione was busy studying the lessons she had written, Heather spent a lot of her free time reading her parents' journals. She learned a lot of fascinating information about the Potters and their small group of friends. Despite being most interested in her parents, all three of them, she made sure to study the information on Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew and oddly enough, Severus Snape.

To say she was shocked when she read her mother had been friends with Snape up until sometime during their fifth year was an understatement. She didn't understand how such a brilliant and wonderful woman could possibly want to hang around a bitter and bigoted dungeon bat. Maybe Snape hadn't been such an arse when he was in school and had only become the horrible man she knew after Lily broke with him? She'd have to find out more about what had happened between her mother and the potions master.

Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew were names she remembered from James and Lily's Will. She frowned when she remembered Peter had been the one to betray her parents to Voldemort and vowed vengeance. She wouldn't charge after the rat like a reckless Gryffindor like her father had; she would use her resources and lay a trap for him. She could then contact Amelia Bones from the DMLE and hope the woman would be able to arrange a trial for Sirius on account that due to his blood-sworn oath the man couldn't have possibly been the one to betray the Potters. She knew she would need to get a copy of her parents' Will from Gringotts as well. The Will specifically stated Peter had been the Secret Keeper at the time of its creation. She vowed she would have her father back, one way or another, even if she had to storm the Ministry of Magic herself.

* * *

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* * *

Once she was dressed and ready to go, Heather called Dobby and asked him to take her and her trunk to the Leaky Cauldron. Dan and Emma had already left for work, so she was able to kiss her girlfriend goodbye before disappearing in a flash of white light. It wasn't like she wouldn't see the girl for weeks on end like the last time they had said their goodbyes. She knew she would see her girlfriend and the elder Grangers the following day when they came up for the weekend.

Once she and Dobby had landed in a vacant alley adjacent to the Leaky Cauldron, Heather thanked her elf and walked into the old tavern. Just like every other time she had stepped into the pub from muggle London, she ignored the patrons and walked up to the bar.

"Hello again Tom, I was wondering if I could rent a room until the first," the redhead said with a soft smile.

"Hello again Miss, would you like the same room you had last time?" Tom asked as he started reaching for the key to room 207.

"Sure, that would be great," Heather replied as she laid two galleons on the counter. "Would I be able to reserve the room next door for some friends of mine? They're supposed to arrive tomorrow morning sometime."

"How long do they intend on staying?"

"Through Sunday afternoon I suspect," the last Potter said as she slipped her room key in her front jeans pocket. "Hermione's parents will want to return home because they'll need to go to work on Monday. After that, she'll want to stay with me until it's time for us to go to Hogwarts next Wednesday."

"That'll be fine Miss. Also, in case you don't remember, breakfast is served at 6:00am and dinner is 6:00pm. The kitchen is open from 5:00am to 10:00pm," Tom said.

"Thank you Tom," the redhead said with a smile before grabbing her trunk and heading upstairs to her room.

* * *

Once she was in her room, Heather didn't waste any time getting ready for her day. After casting multiple security charms, she stripped off her muggle clothing and set about making herself look like a proper Lady of an older House. The first bit of business on her list was Gringotts and making sure her vaults were squared away. She also wanted to talk to Sharpclaw about some investment ideas she and Dan had discussed during her stay with the Grangers. After that, she would return to the Leaky Cauldron and glamour herself to look more like her Aunt Andromeda and head to Knockturn Alley for an unregistered wand or two.

She changed into a very elegant, forest-green short-sleeved dress and a pair of nude colored stockings before slipping on a pair of black, three centimeter heels. Thanks to cushioning and stabilizing charms, she wasn't overly concerned about losing her balance or getting blisters from wearing the unfamiliar shoes. The built-in corset and plunging neckline left little to the imagination and accentuated her growing figure well. As usual, Morgan was around her neck in the form of an emerald-eyed raven pendant on a platinum chain. Since she was going for the Lady of the House image, the redhead decided to wear her diamond and ruby earrings along with a diamond and platinum watch on her left wrist. Finally, she applied a little muggle makeup to accentuate her already beautiful natural features.

Satisfied with her appearance, Heather armed herself with her daggers and wand before disabling her security spells and leaving the room. Due to the hour, she was able to slip through the tap room and into Diagon Alley with minimal fuss. The alley itself was bustling with activity as scores of adults were busy trying to gather school supplies for their children. As she continued towards Gringotts, the redhead noticed a group of younger children clustered around Quality Quidditch Supplies and staring in awe at a new broom called the Firebolt.

* * *

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* * *

Minutes later, Heather arrived at Gringotts. As she passed the goblins standing guard outside, she paused long enough to nod solemnly to them in a show of respect. They nodded back, which caused her to smile slightly, and she continued inside. Knowing she wouldn't be able to access her vaults without her key, she bypassed the queues lined up for the tellers and headed towards the door she had gone through the first time she'd taken an inheritance test.

The guards nodded as she approached and opened the door leading to the inheritance office. She thanked them and walked down a short hallway before coming to another door. Before she could knock, the door swung open revealing an older goblin sitting behind a huge dark wooden desk that took up most of the space in the small office. Behind the elder goblin stood two guards, each looking fierce with their spear-like weapons readied.

Heather calmly entered the office and sat in the only chair provided.

"How may I be of assistance, Witch?" the banker rumbled without preamble in a deep gravely voice.

The redhead still wasn't sure whether the goblin was hostile or not based on his tone, but she didn't let it deter her from what she needed to do. Squaring her shoulders, she stated in a no-nonsense tone, "Due to circumstances beyond my control, I will need to take a heritage test so that I might talk with my account manager. Sharpclaw told me he was going to consolidate my vaults and setup an entirely new one for me so no unauthorized parties would be able to access my assets. As such, I do not have my key so I cannot go through the tellers like usual."

"Sharpclaw huh, he's the Potter account manager and you don't look anything like the Potter heir as far as I'm aware," the banker said in a warning tone. She raised an eyebrow in interest and noticed the guards stiffen their posture as they readied their weapons.

"I know, we went through this nearly two months ago when I was here the first time," Heather said calmly even as she kept a wary eye on the two goblin guards. "Assuming I recall correctly, it was twenty galleons for the test and since it has not been proven I have a vault or am even the Potter heir, you'll want it up front."

"That is correct," the goblin confirmed. Idly waving his calloused and wrinkled greenish hand, a small bowl decorated with ceremonial runes, a copper knife and a platinum colored piece of fine vellum appeared on the desk.

The last Potter nodded as she reached into her coin purse and withdrew twenty gold coins.

Once the coins had disappeared, the banker commanded, "Take the knife, prick your finger and allow three drops to fall upon the vellum. Your finger will heal once you have done so."

Heather nodded again as she proceeded to grab the knife and pricked her left ring finger. Allowing her blood to drip, she watched in fascination as a family tree started forming on the vellum. After the third drop, her finger healed as though she had never pricked it.

"Well now, isn't this interesting, Heather Potter-Black," the elder goblin said with a toothy grin. "Sharpclaw informed me you would be coming by sometime towards the end of August in order to finalize your new account. You'll receive your new key once you have spoken with him. Two guards will be here momentarily and they will escort you to his office. Our business is concluded."

"Thank you Mr. Goblin," the redhead said as she stood and bowed respectively. "May your enemies perish in obscurity."

"And may your enemy's blood drench your blades," the banker replied with a nod of respect as the implements of her heritage test vanished.

A few moments later the door opened and two goblins stepped into the room.

"Take her to Sharpclaw," the older goblin ordered tersely. "Make sure she isn't seen."

Even though it was a repeat of the first time she'd been in the inheritance office, Heather swallowed nervously at the potential implications of the elder goblin's command as she took in small creature's impassive visage. As was the case over a month prior, she still wasn't sure whether she was about to be executed or if they were trying to respect her privacy. The looks on the guards' faces didn't comfort her either.

* * *

The next few minutes were tense as the guards led her through the bank utilizing tunnels she would've expected to be off limits to everyone who wasn't at least part-goblin. Neither of the guards spoke during their journey and their weapons were drawn. They hadn't confiscated her wand so she didn't think she was in trouble, but she also knew they could kill her without much effort if they chose. It was unnerving to say the least.

After what felt like forever, the guards finally stopped in front of a golden door with the inscription 'Account Manager Sharpclaw' in platinum lettering.

"In here, human," one of the guards sneered as the other opened the door. With little fanfare, the goblin standing beside her grabbed her arm and then promptly shoved her inside before his companion slammed the door.

"Lady Potter, I am glad to see you again," Sharpclaw said kindly as he gestured towards the comfortable looking seat in front of his desk. "Again, on behalf of the Account Managers' Union, I apologize for the guards' lack of manners and rough demeanor. I'm afraid our efforts to curb their hostility towards your kind have met with limited success over the last month. Please, take a moment to compose yourself and have a seat, we have much to discuss."

"Thank you Sharpclaw," Heather said as she sat in the blood-red, plush seat provided before noticeably relaxing. She glanced around the office and noticed a few additions to her manager's office since she had been there last. Sitting atop the cherry wood desk in front of her where she and Sharpfang were seated, there were several picture frames depicting various members of the goblin's family. On top of the massive filing cabinet along the left wall, there were three bouquets of flowers housed in crystal vases as well as a small tree taking up residence in the corner of his office near the door.

"Ah, I see you have noticed how I've spruced up the place," the goblin said with a smile. "You were right, it was too drab and dreary in here before so I decided to add a little color."

"I like it," the redhead said with her own smile. Picking up one of the picture frames, she asked, "Is this your family?"

"It is," Sharpclaw confirmed before clearing his throat, drawing his client's attention back to the matter at hand. Once she had replaced the frame on the desk, he continued, "Now then, I asked you to come so we could finalize your account, issue you your keys, talk about any security or financial matters you wish to discuss and ensure everything is as it should be before you head off to Hogwarts."

The banker idly waved his hand and the platinum colored piece of vellum she recognized as her Heritage Test appeared on the desk in front of her.

.

**Heritage/Inheritance Test:**

_Given Name:_ Heather Dorea Potter-Black

_Sex:_ Female

_Date of Birth:_ July 31st, 1980

_Father's Name:_ Sirius Orion Black III

_Mother's Name:_ Lily Marigold Potter nèe Evans (deceased)

_Blood-Adopted Godfather's Name:_ James Charlus Potter (deceased)

_Paternal Grandfather's Name:_ Orion Black (deceased)

_Paternal Grandmother's Name:_ Walburga Black nèe Black (deceased)

_Maternal Grandfather's Name:_ unknown (muggle)

_Maternal Grandmother's Name:_ unknown (muggle)

.

_Titles/Inheritances:_

Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter

Heiress Apparent to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black

Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Peverell

.

Heather raised an eyebrow and smiled as she carefully read through the results of her heritage test. She couldn't believe some of the changes, though the ones regarding her name and sex were pleasant to see. No, it was the fact her now father Sirius Black no longer seemed to be incarcerated that really threw her for a loop. How could her blood test possibly know the man had been released or had escaped? She tried not to think about the unsettling fact the Black family apparently made it a point to marry their cousins, or worse, their siblings…

"I'm sure you have questions…" Sharpclaw said before trailing off at the grimace he noticed on his client's face.

"I do, revolving mostly around Sirius and his family," the redhead said as she pointed towards the lines in question. "Nearly two months ago, it showed Sirius as incarcerated, now it doesn't."

"That's because Sirius escaped from Azkaban shortly after your birthday and is regarded as a fugitive despite his innocence," the banker replied as he shook his head at the stupidity of the human government. "Unfortunately, this will make getting him declared innocent and free much more difficult as he is being actively hunted by your government. Had he stayed put, I estimate we would've been able to get him a trial and his freedom in relatively short order. As it stands now, I'm not sure when we will be able to do so."

"He couldn't have possibly known about our plans though it begs the question, why now?" Heather mused aloud as she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "If he had been able to escape all this time, why wait until now, why not years ago?"

"That's something you'll have to ask him when you meet him," Sharpclaw replied unnecessarily.

"Hogwarts," the last Potter said in a definitive tone. "Whatever is going on, whatever the reason for it happening now, it's all going to happen this year at Hogwarts."

When her manager raised an eyebrow, Heather continued, "Every year since I've returned to the magical world, something has happened where my life was in danger, it was changed in a major way, or some big event that seemed to target me occurred. In first year, not only was I attacked by a cerberus and troll, I had a defense teacher trying to kill me multiple times and wound up having to kill him in self-defense. As if all of that wasn't enough, I discovered I was really a girl despite trying my best to ignore it.

"During the summer before second year, I was targeted by a crazy but lovable house elf named Dobby who wanted me to stay away from Hogwarts. Obviously it didn't work, though he did cause me to miss the train. Ron and I wound up flying his father's car to Hogwarts instead. The year went much the same from an academic standpoint. We had yet another worthless defense teacher who knew very little about the subject he was supposed to be teaching. Defense and History have largely become self-study classes, which is really pathetic considering Hogwarts is viewed as one of Europe's premier magical schools.

"To top it off, I was accused of being the Heir of Slytherin and unleashing a basilisk on the muggle-born students," Heather growled irritably as she shook her head in disgust. "I know wizards and witches of this world seem to lack common sense but really, why would someone whose mother and best friend are muggle-borns seek to kill them? It's a miracle no one actually died and just like the year before, it fell upon my shoulders to end the threat once and for all. I am getting really tired of saving the school all the time while its staff does nothing."

"Once you've returned to Hogwarts and have had a chance to settle in, we'll have to discuss how we're going to salvage the corpse," Sharpclaw said thoughtfully.

"I'll need to come with you," the redhead said evenly. "The basilisk lies within the Chamber of Secrets which, as far as I know, can only be accessed via Parseltongue. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure I can still speak it since your healers removed Voldemort's soul fragment from my forehead. I'll try to access the chamber when I return and let you know. If I can't, we'll have to think of another way as I don't see Gringotts being particularly pleased with losing potential profits the corpse would generate and I have no wish to incur her wrath."

"Smart woman," the goblin said with a toothy grin.

For the next hour and a half, Heather and her manager went over in detail everything either of them could think of with regard to her account and its holdings. This included both magical and muggle investments she and Dan, along with Sharpclaw, had discussed previously. The first bit of business they discussed was the audit Gringotts had performed on her assets while her new vault was constructed. She had not been pleased when the goblin had informed her some of the money and items had been removed from her family's vaults without permission.

As she had suspected, Dumbledore had taken the Potter family's invisibility cloak and held onto it for a number of years only to give it back to her during her first year at Hogwarts. While she was a bit miffed at the old man's audacity, what really angered her was the fact the headmaster had used her family's library like it was his own. Fortunately for her, the goblins had managed to recover everything the old man had taken, along with a 250,000 galleon fine, which had forced Dumbledore to sell one of his properties in order to settle his debt. When asked why the old man hadn't had to serve jail time, she was told due to the man's political clout he was immune from prosecution of anything but the most heinous of crimes.

It wasn't fair, but it was wizarding politics. Those who had the gold and/or political clout made the rules and were able to bend them to their will.

As if Dumbledore's actions weren't bad enough, what had really pissed her off to the point she'd nearly destroyed her account manager's office was the monthly stipend the old man had set up for the Dursleys. For eleven miserable years, her wretched relatives had been paid 1,000 pounds a month for her care and yet they had never spent a single shilling on her. No, the money apparently went towards Dudley's obscene number of presents, the new car Vernon seemed to have every other year, the fancy jewelry her aunt liked to show off to her neighbors and the family trips they seemed to enjoy more regularly than her uncle's salary would ordinarily afford.

Once she had calmed down, thanks to a calming draught and the devilish grin on her account manager's face, Sharpclaw informed her they would be able to recover the funds given to the Dursleys. She learned Barclay's was actually a goblin front for doing business with the muggle world without them being aware of it by using glamours. He informed her they would contact Inland Revenue and begin an investigation of her uncle's years of tax fraud. She was reasonably confident the goblins and British government would punish the Dursleys without her having to lift a finger against them.

Thinking about the amount of money her relatives would owe in back taxes as well as the monies recovered, Heather knew her aunt and uncle would lose everything they owned. They simply never kept enough money in their bank accounts to weather a sudden loss in income, let alone be capable of paying the heavy fines the goblins would levy against them for theft. They would be lucky if they merely had to serve time with Her Majesty's Prison Service for tax evasion/fraud as opposed to being sentenced to hard labor within the goblin mines. At least within the muggle prison system, they weren't as likely to die from malnourishment and exhaustion.

* * *

.

* * *

Once she had returned to her room in the Leaky Cauldron, Heather started mentally preparing herself for her sojourn into Knockturn Alley. Unlike the last time, when she had asked Dobby to search the disreputable place for books containing ritualistic magic and other questionable research material, she knew she would need to go herself. That didn't mean she wasn't going to ask her faithful elf to shadow her the entire time she was there to ensure her safety.

"Dobby," the redhead called as she stood before her full-length mirror and examined her form. When the elf popped into view, she continued, "I need to go to Knockturn Alley for a pair of wands along with Auror-grade holsters. I also want to go to the Apothecary and see if I can't acquire a few aging potions. I look like my mother did when she was about my age but for some of my future plans to work, I'm going to need to look like she did just before she died."

"Is Mistress certain? Knockturn be very bad, especially for under aged witches," Dobby asked nervously as he fiddled with his black cummerbund.

"That's one of the reasons I need your help my friend," the last Potter said as she knelt in front of her worried elf and took his smaller hands into her own. "I need you to make me look older. I'd do it myself but I'm afraid someone will be able to dispel it while Elf-magic should be safe. Also, I want you to shadow me while I'm there and make sure nothing happens."

"If Mistress is certain, Dobby will do this," the elf said in a shaky voice. Once the redhead had released his hands, he proceeded to alter his mistress's physical appearance so she appeared to be in her early 30's. He tweaked her hair, eyes and clothes by making them appear black and less elegant so she'd be less likely to draw undue attention to herself. Once Morgan had been released from her pendant, Dobby then proceeded to mask her jewelry so she would appear to be nothing more than a commoner. The last thing he did, with his mistress's approval, was cast a _Notice-Me-Not_ spell so no one would even remember seeing her.

"Thank you Dobby," Heather said and frowned slightly at her semi-flat sounding voice. "I am ready to go now."

"Yes Mistress," Dobby said as he snapped his fingers, turning himself invisible. He then grabbed his mistress's hand and elf-popped them to the entrance of Knockturn Alley. Once there, he released the ex-redhead's hand and shadowed her as she walked into the alley. He felt better knowing he would be near by and his mistress was wearing her daggers, but he was still worried the girl might be getting in over her head.

* * *

.

* * *

It was approximately 6:30 in the evening and the Dursleys were just sitting down for dinner when the doorbell rang. Vernon muttered more than a few vulgar words underneath his breath as Petunia pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation. Who could be calling at this hour when normal people were just about to sit down to dinner? Dudley thought maybe it was his best friend Piers Polkiss since the two of them had discussed staying over that evening.

"I'll get it Mum," the large teenager said as he slowly climbed to his feet. When the doorbell chimed again, he bellowed, "Hang on a second Piers, I'm coming!"

"Dudley, you didn't tell me your friend was coming over," Petunia said in an irritated tone. She may give her sweet Duddikins everything he could ever want, but she still liked being informed of things before they happened.

Dudley shrugged off his mother's reprimand and opened the door. His eyes bulged out of their sockets when he saw who had come to visit.

Standing on the Dursleys' front porch was a very beautiful young woman who appeared to be in her early 20's. She wasn't particularly tall, perhaps 5'3" (160cm) at the most, but her bright emerald-green eyes, well-defined womanly curves, perfect heart shaped face and fiery, waist-length red hair more than made up for her lack of height in his hormonal teenage opinion.

Whoever this woman was, she was rich. She was clothed in a very elegant, forest-green short-sleeved dress and a nice pair of black half-inch flats. The built-in corset and plunging neckline left little to the imagination and accentuated her figure rather spectacularly. A platinum necklace with an emerald-eyed raven pendant hung around her neck and her ears had been pierced with a pair of diamond studs and ruby dangly earrings. She was also wearing a very expensive looking diamond and platinum watch on her left wrist while a ruby and diamond ring adorned her left ring finger.

"Why hello there, you must be Dudley Dursley," Heather cooed in a siren-like melodic voice as she slipped a manicured finger beneath the stunned boy's slacked jaw. With an audible click, she gently closed his mouth before withdrawing her delicate looking hand.

Petunia felt the blood drain out of her face when she heard their guest's voice. She knew that voice, but it was impossible wasn't it? Lily was dead and had been for over a decade. Knowing she needed to see their guest for herself, she nervously stood on shaky legs and headed towards the front door.

"Lily? Could that really be you?"

"Hello Petunia, it's been a long time," the redhead said softly as she walked passed her stuttering cousin and embraced her aunt.

"I thought… They told me you were dead," Petunia whispered once the two of them had separated.

"Who's 'they', the old fool and his stupid lackeys?" Heather asked with a soft laugh as she shook her head with distain. Narrowing her eyes and hardening her tone, "That said, Dumbledore may have overstepped his authority and kidnapped my son before leaving him here, but that in no way excuses you, your husband and son for how you have treated my child."

"But…"

"No buts!" the last Potter growled angrily as she wandlessly slammed and sealed the front door, causing the muggles to cringe in fear. "Harry is your nephew, your blood! How would you feel if our positions were reversed? What if you and Vernon had been killed and Dudley had been dropped off at my doorstep? You know damn well I would've taken your son in and loved him as my own, yet you are incapable of doing the same for Harry because of your narrow-minded and bigoted opinion of magic."

"How dare you!" Petunia screamed as she planted her hands on her hips.

"Oh I dare," Heather retorted in a menacing tone as she wandlessly sealed the rest of the house. "For what you have done to my son, I would be well within my rights to kill you where you stand. You have no idea how easy it would be either. Right now this house is magically sealed. You cannot escape, not through the door, not through a window, hell, not even the fireplace. Not that your walrus of a husband or whale of a son would be able to fit through the flue anyway."

"Y-You wouldn't…" the blonde haired woman stammered, her face losing all color and her eyes widening in horror as she stepped back in panic.

"I would, if I didn't know how much Harry wanted to be able to call you family," the redhead said in a warmer tone as she allowed her anger to fade away.

"Like we would ever consider the freak family," Vernon spat acidly.

Petunia shot her husband a scathing look before turning back to her sister with a nervous expression on her face, worried how the woman would react to the insult.

Rather than get angry again, Heather simply sighed and shook her head. "I can see I'm just wasting my time trying to talk some sense into you people. Just so you know, despite his age, my son is one of the wealthiest magicals in all of Britain. If only you had treated him like family, he would've been willing to share it with you. As it is, I can guarantee you'll never see another penny from the Potter vaults ever again. Yes, I know all about the 1,000 pounds you've been receiving each month for Harry's care and have to wonder what Inland Revenue will think about that…"

"Lily, please…" the older woman begged.

"Goodbye Petunia. You've made your bed, now it's time you lay in it," the last Potter said with a tone of finality as she faded away.

Petunia turned to her husband and asked hysterically, "What are we going to do Vernon? We've spent most of that money on vacations and presents for Dudley."

"I don't know Pet… I just don't know…"

* * *

.

* * *

**_Author's Notes: _**

_I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter. I want to thank everyone who has read this story so far and I hope I can retain your interest. Please read and review. Comments and criticism are welcome, I just ask you to be nice about it. _

_Publish Date: September 1__st__, 2020_


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